Eternal
by K.C.I.C
Summary: Basically, the mobster Abe Mazur had another love, leavng Rose with two secrets siblings. But these siblngs are no ordinary vampires. And what happens when one of them comes to the academy?
1. Chapter 1

It's obvious that my parents hate me. They have to out to get me to have uprooted me during the last two and a half months of my junior year, and send me to Montana. I'm seventeen years old. Why now? Why there? --- well I know why I was sent there and why it was now.

See, I'm not a normal teenage girl. My Dominican and Black --- on my mother's side --- and my Turkish --- on my father's side --- roots seemed normal enough. I looked like any other person, except for the fact that I was extra beautiful. I'm not being boastful. I stood at 5'7" with long, thick, brown hair that shimmered to my lower back in its natural tight curls. My caramel skin glowed, showing off my beautiful Egyptian looking dark eyes, equipped with long lashes. My pouty, full, pink lips were perfectly soft and smooth. And I had a body to kill for. A 40 inch butt and D cup chest that caught any guy's attention, hidden muscles, and a tiny waist. Like an angel right out of a dream.

Yet, no matter how normal I looked, I was anything but. My real world was the world of vampires and --- unknown to the vamps – a few other fairytale creatures. My father was a Moroi. Those were good vampires who didn't kill when they fed from human, and retained their morality. Each Moroi specialized in either water, air, fire, earth, or a rare element called spirit. They retained small control over the elements that they didn't specialize in. sunlight made them weak. Moroi were generally slim. The girls tended to be supermodel thin, yet very beautiful.

Dhampirs are half vampire ad half human. You also get Dhampirs from Moroi-Dhampir relationships. Dhampirs get strength and muscle build, but take n Moroi speed and reflexes. They had great hearing and sense of smell too. Dhampirs didn't drink blood, had no aversion to sunlight, and had no magic. They went through training and became bodyguards for Moroi. However, many Dhampir women either stay home to raise kids fathered by Moroi --- since Dhampirs can't have kids tighter --- or become blood whores. Being a blood whore was the lowest of low, letting a Moroi feed during sex.

My mother is a Dhampir. Beautiful, with dark brown eyes and brown hair. normally Moroi and Dhampirs didn't stay together. My parents had been crazy for each other, but knew things wouldn't last. After two kids, and countless break ups and make ups, they decided to just stay friends. Me and my brother saw my father plenty, and picked up his Turkish language, but we lived with my mother. We migrated from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. when I was nine. My brother and I had insane accents, but soon mastered the English language, accent free I might add.

My brother Booka and I weren't normal, even for vampires. We went to one of the special vampire academies where our kind trained. We were supposed to take Dhampir classes for fighting and ten normal classes like math and English and what not. While we took all the Dhampir training classes, we had a private tutor to teach us math and stuff because we had to spend the other half of our school day in Moroi magic training classes. Something weird happened with both our births. Instead of being Dhampir, we ended up half Dhampir, with all their traits and half Moroi, with their magic. We both also had bright magenta eyes that darkened and brightened with our moods.

My brother had specialized in fire. Contrary to what most Moroi believed in, we knew how to use offensive magic. I had to be the one weirdo. I had it way harder because I had specialized in all five elements. Spirit was very rare, and gave you powers like super compulsion, healing, mindreading, aura reading, and making someone shadow kissed. My brother and I were also immortal. Not like the evil Strigoi. Those were super strong and super fast vampires who gained immortality and lost their magic --- if they had been Moroi before the change --- by killing the human they fed from or drinking the blood of a Strigoi. My brother and I had a natural immortality that we could also bestow upon others, like we did with our parents.

The thing is, while my mother and father were going through one of their break ups, my father got involved with another woman. My brother Jose, who we called Booka, was a year old when our unknown sister Rosemary, was born. After her I was born. She knows nothing about us, and all we know of her is that she's some big time, shadow kissed Strigoi killer. I bet she couldn't even touch my brother and me when it came to fighting.

Rose was the source of my problems. Since she and her bond mate dealt with spirit --- as well as queen Tatianna's great nephew Adrian Ivashkov --- my parents were making me meet her and try to learn from them. I had decided that since I was going I would keep my identity a secret and go with the family's normal cover story of me specializing only in fire. I wished I could take my brother with me, but he was in college, and had enough investigations of his own to do on the side. We had secrets that the world wasn't quite ready for.

None of that mattered now. I took a plane from Miami to Montana. Once I was there, a car took me to St. Vladimir's Academy. The April air was warm here. It was around seventy eight degrees. Since vampires ran on a night schedule I arrived at around seven thirty. The academy kids were on their way to breakfast. When my limo pulled up, they all stopped and stared, wondering who could be pulling up in a vehicle like that. My driver stopped and went around back to get my luggage from the trunk. I slipped on my black Dolce shades and climbed out of the car heads turned and I had the attention of the entire student body. My short pleated black skirt, low cut navy blue sweater, and matching knee high suede boots were keeping the focus on me. I heard my phone ringing in my handbag and pulled it out.

"Hello? Hey _mami_. _Si, estoy aqui_. I haven't seen any of them yet, but it's still early. Okay. Tell Booka I love him. Love you too. _Adios_."

I hung up, grabbed three of my eight large bags --- which was no easy task --- and followed my driver and some school official to guest housing, where I'd be staying in a luxurious suite. Let the torture begin.


	2. Chapter 2

(Rose POV)

After dragging myself out of bed and getting dressed, I was on my way to breakfast. I met up with Lissa, Adrian, and Christian in the courtyard. We were walking, Adrian with his arm around my shoulder, when a limo pulled up to the school. Lissa and I groaned in annoyance, expecting a surprise visit from the Royal Court. The four of us stood there; ready to meet the newest of Lissa's future affiliates.

The girl who got out of the limo was young and beautiful. She was stealing the attention of everyone with her curly ponytail blowing in the gentle wind, and her designer outfit. I assumed she was a Dhampir, because no Moroi would ever fill out like that. But looking at her again, I tried to figure out what Dhampir girl would make an entrance like that. I was confused. Normally it was pretty easy to tell the difference, but now I was stumped. I guess I'd find out later. For now, the girl and her driver followed guardian Petrov to the fancy guest housing where Adrian stayed.

"Who," said Adrian, "was that beauty?"

"Well, hello? Girlfriend stranding right here."

"Don't worry little Dhampir. I didn't mean anything by it. Just an observation."

"Your dear great aunt probably sent another spy from court to come get acquainted with Lissa." I said, "I'm sure we'll be babysitting her pretty soon."

"Oh Rose. Such the optimist."

I laughed, pecked Adrian on the cheek, and we proceeded to the cafeteria. Eddie and I always felt left out at meals when Adrian, Lissa, and Christian went off for their blood. We sat patiently at the table joking about our friends being human leeches and mosquitoes.

I had had more than enough experience with being bitten and the addiction that came with it. That was a place I would never return to. Adrian made sure to keep his fangs in check when kissing any part of me.

Eddie and I saw our friends approaching, but they were not alone. The mystery girl from earlier was with them. Lissa was struggling with a smile that fell between genuine and fake politeness. She still wasn't sure if this was the queen's doing or if this girl was trustworthy. Time to test the waters.

(Kyran's POV)

My room was suitable. Both my parents came from money, so I was used to living the good life. This room was actually up to my standards. It had a huge bed with silk spread and a beautiful comforter; tons of pillows and an immaculate carpet. My feet sink into its thickness as I took in the size and beauty of the room and its contents. TV, computer, stereo, private bathroom, balcony with a view. I could stay here for a while.

A school guardian named Alberta came to my room after the driver left. She gave me my schedule and explained the basics of the school to me. I saw that my schedule stopped at a half day. I had all the Moroi classes, but nothing in the afternoon. My private tutoring had allowed my brother and I to get GED's early. I no longer required regular school. I was expecting to have my Dhampir classes, but I suspected my mother though that would look suspicious. I'm sure she'd call and explain soon enough.

Alberta told me I could get a meal before jumped into classes. The Moroi part of me did need blood. My brother and I both had fangs. That was what would really pull together my full blooded Moroi act, since I had the body of a Dhampir. Alberta led me from my room to the dining hall. She brought me over to the feeding area, where I received strange looks from the other Moroi. Fate smiled upon me for she introduced me to a group of Moroi. There was Christian Ozera, Adrian Ivashkov, and Vasilissa Dragomir --- my sister's friends.

Alberta left me with the Dragomir princess, the Ozera prince, ad the Ivashkov prince. I turned on the charm flashed my pearly whites, and waved. I had to portray that innocent girl look. The others returned my smile and welcomed me.

"Hey! I'm ---

"Vasilissa Dragomir; Last in your line; Spirit user. I've heard a lot about you."

They all looked a bit shocked that I knew that last part, but not at the first two. When you're the last in a royal family you tend to be well known.

"Um, you can call me Lissa. This is Christian, my boyfriend."

"The Ozera boy. Shame about your parents; but you don't seem so bad. Fire user, right?"

"Yeah."

"And this is Adrian Ivashkov."

"Another spirit user. Our…great queen's nephew. I hear you have an attitude; but it's charming, unlike your aunt's. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Hopefully I hadn't offended Adrian with the comments to his aunt. Tatianna and my family weren't exactly on good terms.

"Are you psychic or something?" Christian blurted out.

"I've just heard a lot about you guys is all." I avoided the question rather than lying to them.

"Well we were just about to sit down. Would you like to join us?" Lissa asked politely, "After you feed of course."

"I'm not that hungry. We can just sit."

I followed the royals through the cafeteria and toward a table where two Dhampirs sat. One was a fairly cute, dark haired guy. The other was a very pretty girl with red-brown hair and a slight tan. That was m sister. That was Rosemary Hathaway.

The whole room stared as I sat down. Lissa began to introduce her friends.

"This is Eddie, and this is ---

"Rosemary Hathaway. Dhampir. Wicked Strigoi killer." _And Strigoi lover_ I added in my head. I know of my --- I hate calling her my sister. I don't even know her. I'd discovered Rose's secret affair with her guardian trainer who had become a Strigoi.

"She kno0ws a lot about us" Lissa said.

"How could she not. You guys are a bit famous. And what woman doesn't know me?"

"Ah, there's that infamous Ivashkov charm." I said.

"Just to be clear, did queen Tatianna send you from the Royal Court to come spy on Lissa and us?"

"No! No offense Adrian, but I can't stand Tatianna. She's not too fond of my family either."

"No offense taken."

"Why doesn't she like you guys?" Lissa asked.

"Just differences between her and my mom."

"So what's your name?" Christian asked.

"Kyran Booka." I answered.

"And, just to be on the safe side, what element have you specialized in, Kyran?" Rose asked. She was so much like my father it almost hurt.

"Fire."

"Just checking."

"Kyran, you do realize those sunglasses aren't necessary in here." Adrian pointed out.

"Oh right I forgot all about them." I reached up and pulled my sunglasses off, brushing away curly strands of hair from my eyes. The others gasped a bit at my eye color.

"You have the most odd, yet the most unique and beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Who do you get them from?" Adrian asked.

"I don't know. My brother is the only other relative I've ever seen them on."

"Weird, but cool." Eddie commented.

Slowly, I was gaining their trust. They were willing to let me into their circle. All I had to do was learn as much as possible about spirit and being shadow kissed, and hopefully my mother would let me come home for senior year. Speaking of my mother….

_Shorty just texted me_

_Said she wanna sex me_

_LOL smiley face_

_LOL smiley face_

_Shorty sent a Twit pic_

_Sayin' come and ---_

"Sorry. It's my mom." I pulled put my phone and answered, "_Si mami_."

"Did you get your schedule?'

"Yeah I meant to ask you about that. _Por que yo tengo una_ half day _de escuela_?"

"You don't need normal classes, and running on a Dhampir and Moroi schedule wouldn't work out at St. Vladimir's. Plus, you need to keep a low profile until you get things figured out."

"_Pero, mami_ what about…_tu sabes_?"

"I'm sending in someone to help you with that. You'll take private classes with him instead of the afternoon classes."

"Who is it?"

"That' not important right now."

"Mommy." I growled.

"I gotta go. Love you."

Before I could respond she hung up. My mother had just rushed me off the phone. Who could be so bad that she wouldn't tell me? What guardian did she know I would reject? Was it one of the queen's --- nah. My mother would never have anything to do with that woman and vice versa. I didn't like this situation. I was about to return to the conversation when my phone went off again.

_I'm grown now_

_Certified and all that_

_You say what you want_ _---_

"Yes daddy."

"Did you get to school safely?"

"Daddy, isn't that obvious since I'm on the phone with you?" I answered in my Turkish accent that always came out when I talked to my father.

"Don't give me the attitude, Ky. Forgive me for worrying about my daughter."

Now I switched into speaking full Turkish, "If you were so worried about me you should have left me where I was. And what's this about my new trainer? Who is he? Why is mommy trying to keep it a secret?"

My father also started speaking his native tongue, "Kyran, you may not see it, but we are trying to help you. you need to learn as much as possible about yourself and your family. I really want you to get to know Rose. Eventually I want Jose to know her too. Just give this a chance. Please? For me?"

I could hear his pout over the phone and laughed. He too avoided the question about my trainer. I decided to let it go for now. I switched back to English as the others signaled that classes would start soon.

"Okay, daddy. I gotta go to class now. I'll talk to you later."

"Love you, my little _Kyranyetta_." I loved that name. It was my full first name that only he, and sometimes my brother, were allowed to call me. They didn't even register me under my full name at schools. To the school I was Kyran Booka.

"Love you, too, _Papaura_." I answered with the nickname I made for him.

I hung up my phone, put the ringer on vibrate, and followed the others. After showing me where my cooking class with Christian was, Lissa said she'd meet up with me later. She and I had elemental training together.

Christian was really nice to me. I guess it's true that even though his parents chose to become Strigoi, he was a good guy. So when pretty much the whole class tried to talk to me, and get me to sit with them, I politely declined and remained partners with Christian. Since we were both fire users, I asked him if he could show me some stuff once I got settled. Maybe we could trade tricks.

I went to my other morning classes. Two were with Lissa, and one I had by myself. I was invited to a few after hours' parties. Even the Royals adored me; especially the guys. I fit into the school perfectly. The others wanted to talk, so I told them we could do it tomorrow. I needed to get a good day's rest. I went back to my room, unpacked a little, and then fell asleep with a pillow on the soft carpet.

Somewhere in my sleep, my dreams turned from memories of my home to a tropical beach house. I stood on a veranda looking out at the rushing waves. A revealing white sundress flowed around me I the gentle island breeze. I heard breathing behind me and spun to face Adrian Ivashkov. Suddenly, I knew this wasn't a dream. Adrian was dream-walking; another of a spirit user's powers.

"Hello, Kyran."

"Adrian. What are you doing in my dreams?"

"Haven't you heard? Every woman who meets me dreams of me at one point or another. But enough about me; how do you know so much about my friends and I? Are you sure my aunt didn't send you?"

Now I understood. Adrian was trying to get the truth out of me and make me think it was just in my dreams.

"Adrian, I'm not surprised that you guys are skeptical; but I am telling the truth. I have nothing to do with the queen or the Royal Court. And did you really think you could fool me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you're dream walking. This is a real conversation. You aren't slick."

"How much do you know?"

"More than I'd care to, believe me; but not too much. Pretty much everything I've told you guys so far. Why couldn't you wait until I woke up to tell me all of this and interrogate me when I'm conscious?"

"Because you've been asleep for two days."

My eyes bulged with shock. It was enough to send Adrian out of my head and pull me out of my sleep. I looked at the clock beside my bed. It read ten fifteen. I grabbed my cell to see if Adrian had been lying. He hadn't. My phone told me that it was Saturday. I had missed two days of classes, and possibly training, if my parents' recruit had ever arrived. I jumped up and began getting ready. After brushing my teeth, showering, and getting dressed it was twelve. I figured everyone would be on their way to lunch. I decided just to head straight to the dining hall.

Sure enough, I saw Adrian and the others laughing it up at their usual table. I made a stop at the feeders before heading over. As I approached I saw Adrian's flirtatious eyes roam over my legs, which were exposed by my pink shorts. He also began to notice my cleavage in my white shirt, but decided to stop before Rose noticed. I sat down as the others greeted me with "Hi's" and "What's ups".

"So, I hear you had an encounter with Adrian." Rose said.

"Yeah. Your boyfriend snuck into my dreams. But I should actually thank him, because, if he hadn't, I'd probably still be sleeping."

"Anytime you want to dream about me just – "Rose elbowed him in the ribs, "--- just ask my darling Rose for permission." He finished painfully.

The rest of us giggled at the slight lover's quarrel.

"Hey. We were about to go back to Adrian's room for some magical practice. You wanna come?" Lissa asked.

"I'd love to."

The six of us stood up and I followed them toward the guest housing. We were halfway through the courtyard when a woman approached us. Since I didn't know her, I assumed she was here for one of the others.

"Hey, guardian Munroe." Roe said casually.

"Miss Hathaway. Princess Dragomir. Prince Ozera. Prince Ivashkov. Edward. Nice to see you. Miss Booka, headmaster Kirova needs to see you for a moment. Come with me."

I couldn't already be in trouble, could I?

"Would you guys mind coming with me?" I asked sweetly.

"Sure. I haven't seen Kirova in a while anyways." Rose said.

We followed the guardian in the opposite direction. She led us into what I assumed was a faculty building of some sort. Kind of like an admissions office. Guardian Munroe left us outside of the Headmaster's door. I went in first, followed closely by the others.

"Hey, Kirova! Long time no see." Rose said in a joking, yet enthusiastic, manner. I could tell she'd probably been in this office so much that people would have mistaken her for the Headmistress.

"Hello, miss Hathaway. It's nice to see all of you. But I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside while I briefly discuss a private matter with Miss Booka.

"No problem. Just don't chew her out too badly for missing classes. She was asleep." Rose said as she and the others left the room.

"Miss Booka, I'm sure you know im aware of your un9ique situation. You have a half day schedule so that you can discreetly continue your Dhampir training. Your mother sent in a trainer who she said would be perfect. Miss Booka, I've been told that you've already met Joshua Hunter."

The chair in front of her desk --- that I thought had been empty – swiveled around. I stared into Joshua's devilish eye and devious grin. My anger was boiling and rising. Now I understood my parents' secrecy. They didn't want to be on the phone when I had this reaction.

"WHAT?!!!!!" I shouted before turning and storming out of the room.

(Rose POV)

All our heads snapped towards Kirova's office as we heard Kyran's scream. Moments later she stormed out of the room yelling in Spanish and some other language I didn't know. Close behind her was a guy who looked so god-like he could even give Dimitri a run for his money. He had deep chocolate eyes with flecks of gold. He was ripped; arm muscled, leg muscles; abs visible through his shirt; and he was tall. I think he3 was about six foot two. The mocha skinned god smirked and winked at us as he followed Kyran outside. We, in turn, followed close behind.

"Who the hell is that?" Christian almost sneered.

"I don't know, but we're definitely about to find out." I told him before grabbing Lissa and jogging after Kyran and the god.


	3. Chapter 3

(Kyran's POV)

I was seething. Phone poised in my hand, I called my mother, ready to last her ear off.

"Hey, Kyran ---

I didn't let her finish, "Mommy, how could you do this to me? Why in _el nombre de los dios_ would you send Josh? _Que es la problema con_ the other guardians? Why can't I have someone else? Anyone else would be better than Josh."

"Kyran, this is not optional. You and Josh may not always see eye to eye, but ultimately he is the best choice. With his genetics, he's netter and stronger than any Dhampir. Joshua is your trainer and that's that."

"_Tu abes que_ I'm afraid of _tu papa_? Calling him ain't gonna do a thing 'cause we made the decision together."

"I know that. I'm just gonna call him so I can yell at him too." I hung up on her before she could get another word in. next up was my father. Although my father spoke English, I usually spoke to him in Turkish. It was mostly a precaution. He picked up and cut me off before I could speak.

"I take it Josh showed up."

"How could you do this to me?"

"Kyranyetta, it's for your own good. No more arguments. I've got to go. I love you."

Knowing me so well, my dad hung up before I could keep arguing. I went back to mumbling in Spanish and Turkish as I walked off. I felt a hand grab me and instantly knew it as Josh's. I turned and snatched my arm away.

"Don't touch me."

"Listen, I'm not too thrilled about this either. You're father made me a great offer, and I'm talking about more than just money. We both have to bear through this, so stop being a brat and get over it."

"Goodbye Josh."

"See you later your Royal brattiness!" he called after me.

I heard hurried footsteps and a flirtatious "Hi" being exchanged between the girls and Josh. Suddenly, Rose and Lissa were on either side of me. They looped their arms through mine.

"Let me guess. That's your hot Dhampir ex that you had a bad break up with." Rose said.

"As if. Joshua Hunter has no chance with me. He's never liked me, causing me not to like him. And apparently I'm stuck seeing him everyday now. I hate y parents."

"Trust me. We all got that feeling around here." Rose reassured me, "Parents can be sucky; but who else is gonna give you money and spoil you --- not that mine ever do that for me."

I smiled at hardcore Rose trying to emphasize with me.

"Come on. Let's head to Adrian's room and see if we can get the guys to cater to us." Lissa giggled.

Once we reached Adrian's room I realized it was right next door to mine. I decided not to mention that quite yet. Eddie and I sat on Adrian's chair while the others worked. We watched Rose attempt to fight and block attacks on Lissa while in Lissa's head. Christian practiced his offensive fire magic, and offered to show me a few spells. I picked them up quickly before showing him tricks of my own. They were all very surprised to find another Moroi, outside the academy, that practiced offensive magic.

"So which rebellious parent taught you your offense?" Christian asked.

"Both, actually. They're big on me and my brother knowing as much as possible about our magic and being able to defend ourselves."

"I wish all Morois would think like your family."

I didn't plan on mentioning that my mother was actually a Dhampir. Right now I was reveling in the fact that I had been accepted into this circle of friends. This just made getting what I needed to get out of here that much easier.

"So can I see the famous Strigoi killer battle it out with another Dhampir?"

"I'm sure you've seen Dhampirs fight." Adrian insisted.

"Yeah, but not any that have killed countless Strigoi in two months before even graduating."

"There is no way I'm fighting Rose. She'll put me to shame."

"But isn't that how you get better? Fighting the best there is?"

"True. Ok. Next Saturday I promise you a show down with Rose."

"Oh great," Lissa groaned, "Violence; just what every girl needs in her life."

"Money. Violence. Cute boys. What more could a girl ask for?" I joked.

"Um…diamonds?"

"Yeah right. Rose Hathaway wearing diamonds? I don't think so."

"Shut up Eddie. In case you forgot, I am a girl."

"If anyone knows it's Adrian." Christian joked, earning him a smack in either arm from both Lissa and Rose. We spent the next few hours joking around like that. When it got pretty late --- like hours past the twelve o'clock curfew --- I realized I still had to unpack. The others had ulterior motives for needing a few hours of rest; Church.

"So are we gonna see you at service tomorrow?" Rose asked.

"Church. I forgot all about that. What time is it?

"From ten thirty to one thirty." Lissa said.

I groaned, "Early hours."

"Don't worry. I'm not the biggest fan of church either." Rose said.

"Rose isn't the biggest believer." Christian said.

"I guess I'll be there. Just don't expect me to be on time." I said.

Adrian guided us all to the door. He kissed Rose goodbye before letting her scurry off with Lissa, Christian, and Eddie. I have Adrian a wave as he shut his door. Before I could even grip the handle on mine, a strong force pulled me around. Josh gripped both my shoulders and pinned me to the door. Although I was super strong, even for a vampire, my strength didn't even compare to Josh's.

"What?" I growled at him.

"Listen, the next few months are gonna be hell for both of us. I don't want any trouble from you. Let's just get what we have to get done so we can move on."

"I don't know who you think you are, but I don't take orders."

He let out a primal sound.

"You don't scare me." I jerked out of his touch and stepped backwards into my room, "Goodnight."

I heard him mumbling under his breath as I slammed the door in his face. Normally, I though there was no way that boy could make me hate him more, but he always found a way to prove me wrong. And what's worst is that the brat clouded my minds as I did a little more unpacking before crashing on the carpet again.

(Rose POV)

I sat in my room after parting ways with Eddie, Lissa, and Christian. I'd never thought life could be so easy and uncomplicated. I had great friends, decent grades, a killer rep, and a guy that adored me. I knew my life wasn't gonna stay charmed forever. Graduation marked the date of a new journey. I'd promised that I wouldn't run away for the next two and a half months, and I expected to keep good on that promise.

Besides, I could leave drama up to the new kids. Kyran may be a bit mysterious, but she was so much fun. She kind of reminded me of me in my more reckless days --- not that I wasn't still reckless now. She had the body of a Dhampir, but the goddess like perfection of a Moroi. And speaking of Dhampirs, that new Josh guy is hot. I mean scorching. With looks like that I can't imagine anyone being able to hate him, but Kyran sure found a way. Oh well. Not my drama.

After changing my clothes and brushing my teeth, I fell onto my bed. The softness of the pillows soothed me. Next thing I knew I was out cold.

*************

I woke the next morning at nine thirty. Church was mostly my way to see Lissa. Christian went to be with Lissa, and to reduce the thoughts that he would turn Strigoi. Adrian went for show as well, and for me. Everyone else went because most of our families were Christian or Orthodox. But getting up early on a Sunday morning was still a drag.

Normally, I tried to remain modest when dressing in church clothes. A knee length black skirt that wasn't too tight, a red blouse, and black one inch heels did the trick. I pulled my hair up and headed to meet Lissa and the others in the lobby.

Adrian was in a black suit, Christian in a black shirt and pants set, Eddie in black and white, and Lissa shining in a knee length black dress that I could never fit in. Her hair was curled a bit and her heels were an inch higher than mine, and way more expensive. It didn't matter. We all looked great. Adrian extended his arms in a sign for me to walk into them. I slid into his strong arms and gave him a quick kiss. After the greeting we set off for church. We sat together as usual, not too far but not too close either. The organist began to play as we all rose.

(Kyran POV)

I woke up around ten. Once I got into the shower I almost had to force myself out. The hot water definitely woke me up. I grabbed a granola bar from my mini fridge and started getting dressed. I wore a high waist pencil skirt, and a silky short sleeved hot pink blouse tucked into the skirt. I undid a couple buttons, and showed my silver heart necklace from my father and the large pink amulet that all the women in my mother's family wore.

I put my hair into a long braid, one curly strand refusing to get out of my face. I rubbed pink gloss on my lips, and slipped on my matching pink stiletto pumps before hurrying through the door. I had to run back for my cell phone and a sliver bracelet, before I started on my way to the chapel.

I was very much late. The priest was already giving his sermon when I strolled in at twelve thirty. I made as little noise as possible as I slipped into a bench in the back. I scanned around for Rose and the others. I found her eyes scouting for me, and she offered me a warm smile before returning her attention to the service. I leaned back and began absentmindedly toying with my bracelet. I was so spaced that I jumped when someone called to me.

"You're kind of in my seat."

I turned, ready to apologize until I saw that it was Josh speaking. Of all the people, it would have to be him. I rolled my eyes and scooted over, assuming that this was a punishment from God for me being late. I tried to zone out, playing with the bracelet again. I felt Josh's breath on my neck as he leaned down toward my ear.

"You've still got that fidgeting habit."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're playing with your bracelet. You hate sitting still so you get antsy. You play with your jewelry, or over apply lip gloss, or mess with your nails."

Wow. This boy was observant, "What are you, stalking me now?"

"Only in your dreams. Oh wait. That's supposed to be your trick isn't it."

"Don't go there with me, mutt. No one here knows. They think I've specialized in fire and only fire. Don't you dare say anything." I said. We were speaking so low that only our hypersensitive ears could hear.

"Don't worry my little _Moroi_. I wouldn't tell a soul. You're not the only one with a secret. You don't tell mine and I won't tell yours."

"Why would I even talk about you?"

"'Cause you just can't get enough of me; and you know you love hearing my name."

I nudged hum away as he silently laughed at his joke. I crossed my arms and brooded until service was over. I tuned to leave; but before he let me get out Josh turned to me, "See you tomorrow, bright and early."

Then he grinned and stalked away, waving to my friends as they approached me.

"What was that lovely little exchange about?" Rose asked.

"Nothing fun. I swear my mother is out to get me. She knew who was coming here and she had no intention on telling me."

"What is the deal with you and Josh, anyhow?" Adrian asked.

"Creative differences." I said evasively,  
I'm hungry. Can we go get something to eat?"

"I concur."

The six of us left the church and made our way to the dining hall. After going with the Moroi to get blood, we got in line with Rose and Eddie to get food. I loaded up with steak and pork. One thing my brother, Josh and I had in common was our constant cravings for meat. It was the only other hunger craving that was as strong as my bloodlust. I grabbed a burger and some fries, then went to sit.

"Whoa. You weren't kidding about being hungry." Christian said.

"How is all of that going to fit into that tiny waist of yours?" Adrian inquired.

"I've always eaten like this."

"And we can clearly see where it all ends up." He joked, referring to my chest and my butt. I cut him a look as Rose smacked his arm, "What?! It's not like it isn't true."

She hit him again.

"The best choice would be for you to shut up." Christian told Adrian.

True to my word, I scarfed down everything on my plate. I didn't really eat a lot. I also didn't regularly drink blood. But when I did, I pigged out. Usually my brother tried to knock that habit out of me, because not eating and feeding made me weak, lightheaded, and violent. If he were here he would've yelled at me for this.

There was a commotion at the door that drew the room's attention. We all watched as Josh strolled in with a loud group of Moroi and Dhampir boys. I assumed those were the "cool kids".

"He sure didn't waste any time making those kind of friends." I mumbled.

Josh and I watched each other while we remained in the Café. We sent glares across the room. I hurriedly finished my food and suggested that we go elsewhere. I wanted as much time away from Josh as possible before I had to spend every morning and afternoon with him until graduation.

*************

Skipping my sessions with Josh wasn't an option. My father finding out would result in him cutting back my charmed life. I lose credit cards, my phone, and any freedom that he could take away. But I could --- and would --- make him wait. Punctuality was not a specialty of mine. In fact, I was an expert at just the opposite.

I took my sweet time getting ready. It took forever for me to decide what to wear. Then I had to pack my bag so I could change and figure out how I was going to make the transition from practice to class and then back to practice. I finally decided on a maroon sweat suit with a maroon tank underneath, and black boots so I wouldn't have to carry an extra pair of shoes.

Although lip gloss wasn't necessary, it was such a natural part of my dressing process. I put some on before throwing it in my bag. I swung the bag over my shoulder, and then made my way to the school's gym. Luckily, it was an hour and a half before anyone would even consider getting up, so I was safe. As I entered the gym I threw my bag against a wall and approached Josh. He got up from the floor and began fussing.

"You're late."

"Yeah, well, this kind of beauty had to be admired and upheld. And since even God isn't up this early to see it, I had to pay proper attention to myself." I said while tying up my hair.

"Let me make myself clear. I am not dealing with this crap. This is not what I'm here for. So from no on get here on time." He growled. I considered giving him a smart comment, but decided against it when I noticed the look in his eyes. As strong as I was I would never match Josh's strength. The only people that could would be Strigoi.

"Let's just get this over with."

I placed myself directly in front of him, almost challenging him with my stance. I had my game face on, daring him to touch me. Instead of fighting, Josh ordered me to a work out.

"100 pull ups. Now."

With my super strength that was nothing to me. Neither were the seemingly endless push ups and sit ups. Though I wasn't as strong as Josh or those like him, I was still pretty close to it. That's why Josh worked me into the ground. He made me exercise until I broke a sweat, which most people never accomplished.

"Now I want you to run. Your physical skills are great, now I need to check your agility and endurance. Outside; ten laps around the school."

"When are we gonna fight. I'm tired of all this crap. I feel like I'm in a P.E. class."

"You wanna fight? Fine. Show me what you got."

My first mistake was charging after him. I knew better than to attack first. It was just something about the way he spoke back to me that clouded my judgment. Josh blocked and threw me like it was nothing. I hopped up just in time to block his fists. He landed a couple blows, but, for the most part, I blocked well enough. That was until he aimed for my face.

"Not the face!" I shrieked while crouching away.

"Are you….are you kidding me? Is this how the old trainer handled you? Letting you get away with slacking off and easy fighting?"

"Yes. Bruises on my arms and legs I can hide. I can't explain marks on my face."

"You don't wanna explain marks on your face?" when I nodded, he gripped my hair and slammed my face into his knee, "Then learn to bock."

He hadn't hit me as hard as he could've, but my face ached. On top of that, my nose as bleeding and so was my lip. I knew I'd have a black eye as well. Anger caused me to forget which of us was stronger and I attacked him. Hands on his throat, I thought I had the upper hand. He knocked me off, got on top, and held me down.

"Don't forget which of us has the power."

"And don't forget which of us is a guy," I said while bringing my knee up. He stopped it with his hands. I surprised him by gripping his manhood with my hand instead, and squeezing hard. He was in enough pain that I rolled him off me, and stood up.

"I'm also smarter." I gloated.

It took Josh a moment to recover. Once he did, the look on his face wasn't at all pleasant or inviting. I'll admit I felt a twinge of fear, but pride and attitude quickly replaced it.

"Laps. Outside. Now." he spat through gritted teeth.

This time I made no fuss about it. Josh and I ventured outside. I made sure to watch my back in case he tried to retaliate. When we got outside I stretched and got my muscles loose for the run.

"Ten laps right?"

"No. Keep up with me until I say to stop. Now go."

Without warning Josh took off. It took me only a second to react. Once I started to catch up he stopped taking it easy and kicked in his full speed. That meant I had to step it up. We both ran at full speed. Running was something that I was good at. I held my own and stayed within a good distance of Josh. We would've looked like passing blurs to anyone who saw us; unidentifiable.

We ran for a half an hour. I called out to Josh that I had class. I knew he could hear me even if I whispered, he just chose to ignore me. He was mad, I got that; but he didn't need to take it out on my education. Finally, though, the jerk let up. I assumed it was only because he had run all his anger out and was now calm. We stopped in front of the gym.

"Don't be late to the afternoon practice." He said before walking away from me. I guessed he preferred to shower in his own room in the guest building rather than to be stuck near me for one another minute. He didn't care about being late. Thanks to Josh, I'd be late too, because I was not gonna rush my shower. Oh well. The teachers can get over it.


	4. Chapter 4

Things were pretty routine for the next couple of weeks. School was a breeze as always. No regular classes. All magic. All the time. What more could I ask for. And on top of it all I got to learn new spells from Christian. The only downside was that I couldn't practice my other powers, but I was okay with that. I was having way too much fun with life. I had fallen into step with these people, and they had willingly accepted me. I figured I could make it through the end of the school year if things continued like this; although, I'd yet to find out any new information on spirit.

Now not everything was like a fairytale. Josh and I were still at war. Ever since that incident in the gym he had been ice cold. The only time he spoke to me was when he was barking out ridiculous orders during practice. He was working me into the ground. It took a whole week of killer workouts before he finally let me practice combat. Even then, he was still keeping me on a baby level. He had me practicing technique, control, and balance. He knew it was killing me because all I wanted to do was fight. I could tell he also wanted to give into his animalistic nature, but he was willing to deny himself just to spite me. And let's not discuss the looks he gave me. They were bone chilling.

However, nothing could bother me at the moment. With the way I was feeling, the Earth could have been on fire and I would've told it to hold off until the week was over. The end of March meant the most important day of the year was coming up; my birthday. It was the day before the big day. Normally, everyone would make a fuss and I would celebrate the whole month as if I were a princess. I hadn't told anyone at St. Vladamir's my birthday and I planned on keeping it a secret. What I had hoped for was that my parents would grant me one birthday wish and spring me from this place at least for the weekend. That way I could enjoy my birthday on Friday, and then rock it out on Saturday and Sunday.

I was walking to practice, late as always. That was my own way of getting back at Josh. I refused to care about his constant complaints. He of all people should know that I've never been a punctual person. I was on the phone with my mother.

"So, mommy, I was thinking that you and daddy could come for me tomorrow. We could go get Booka and we'd all go out. I wanted to spend the weekend in New York." I asked.

Josh was signaling for me to get off the phone so we could begin our session. I put up a finger to let him know I wouldn't take long and walked through the gym.

"Unfortunately, I won't be around tomorrow and neither will your father. We both have to fly out of the country for emergency business trips. Where's all this coming from?"

"Well, I kinda wanted to go celebrate; but if you're too busy then I guess it's ok."

"Celebrate? What would you want to - oh no. Oh God. Your birthday is tomorrow isn't it? Oh my gosh. Sweety, we completely forgot. I'm sooo sorry."

"No. it's okay. Really. You guys are busy. I'll just find something else to do. I gotta go to practice. Bye."

I hurriedly hung up my phone. My mood had been completely deflated. It's not like this was the first time this had happened. My parents missed out on important stuff for my brother and I all the time. Graduations, award ceremonies, birthdays. That's why we always made sure we had each other to rely on. But now I was all alone. I didn't have my brother here to help me not fall apart.

I walked over to Josh, not feeling at all lie myself, nor was I up to training.

"Nice of you to grace me with your attention."

"Yeah. Sorry. Can we just get started?"

"You feelin' alright?"

Even though I nodded I knew that Josh knew something was up. I didn't give him a snarky reply, nor did I give him attitude during the whole practice. I obeyed his every command the second he gave an order. I didn't fight him on anything, and I was silent the entire three hours. At one point he started lightening the work, but I kept pushing myself. Finally, he ended practice. As I walked past him to go shower I felt a single tear fall from my eye. That's when Josh really knew something was up. I NEVER cried. This was an unknown occurrence to him. He stopped me at the door.

"Kyran, are you sure you're okay?"

"Joshua, I already told you I'm okay. Just drop it." I said in a flat, monotone voice before continuing to the locker room. I showered, changed, then crawled into my bed and cried myself to sleep. Now more than even I wished my brother was with me. I had shut off my phone and locked my door to ensure that I wouldn't be bothered. After a couple hours, I drifted off into peaceful darkness.

I really did not want to face the world today, it was my birthday and no one knew; not even my supposedly loving parents. I decided to skip classes and just stay in bed. The only problem was that I still had training. I managed to drag myself from the comfort of my sheets and get ready for training. I planned on going to only my session with Josh and then going back to sleep.

When I got to the gym, there was a note on the door from Josh. It said that morning practice was cancelled, but I had better be on time for afternoon practice. I took the note down, tossed it in a trash can, and then went to continue my sleep.

It was around eleven thirty when I woke again. Practice was in an hour. I got up and turned on my phone. I had at least 200 texts and forty missed calls. A few were from my parents. Many were from my old friends wishing me happy birthday. I noticed that there were a lot from my brother. He was gonna kill me for him not being able to get through to me. He had been calling since the previous day. I immediately called him back and reassured him that everything was okay. He asked about my birthday plans and I told him about how mommy and daddy had forgotten again. As always, Booka knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. I told him I had to go get ready for practice and that I'd call him later.

With my newfound happiness, I replied to my text messages while running around to get ready. I showered, brushed my teeth, and put on my training clothes. Today was a black sweat suit with a white tank underneath. I hurried out the door and actually managed to be on time for practice.

I walked into the gym to find it empty. Where the heck was Josh. I sat on the floor in the middle of the gym and began talking to myself in the empty space.

"It figures that the one time I manage to be punctual this jerk decides he wants to be late. It's just my luck."

"Who you callin' a jerk?" a voice called from the doorway on the other end of the gym. I spun around to find Josh standing with a cake. On top of the cake was a lit candle the read 17. I stood up as he walked towards me.

"Josh, what is this?"

"What does it look like dummy? It's a birthday cake."

"Wait. Who told you? It was Booka wasn't it? I'm gonna kill him."

"No it wasn't Booka. Believe it or not I actually know your birthday. I was always at your parties when you had 'em. I just happened to remember. I'm cancelling practice for the day."

I was so touched I felt like I was going to cry. This was the most miraculous thing ever. Josh and I were enemies. So why was he buying me a birthday cake and treating me nice? It was so strange that I almost couldn't handle it. I was actually at a loss for words. I really didn't know what to say.

"Speechless? You? That's a first." Josh joked.

"Josh, I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't take it to the head. And don't get used to this. This doesn't change things between us."

"Okay." I said with a smile plastered on my face.

"Blow out your candles already."

I didn't wanna ruin what might be the only nice moment we ever have with a smart comment, so I just blew out the candle. Josh and I sat for a while and enjoyed the cake. For two people in such good shape we sure could eat. We devoured the entire cake; and, let me tell you that thing was huge. Yet, no matter how nice this moment was, it definitely didn't change a thing. I received a gift from my brother as well as another phone call. Josh and I got into it a couple days later and were right back to where we started from. As you can see, things never change.

Just when I thought everything was gonna go good and stay good, my bad luck stuck with me. About a week after my birthday I was in the cafeteria with my friends. We were walking towards the table when some Moroi and Dhampir girls decided they wanted to mess with us. These four were extremely jealous of all the attention I've been getting since I got here, of the favor that Lissa held with the queen, and of Rose's status with the guys and the guardians of the world. Factor in the fact that we have hottie Adrian and outcast Christian and they pretty much hate our group.

As we were walking they decided to block our path. Rose, Lissa, and I stood in front of the boys and instantly stopped laughing. Being the person that she is, Rose just had to go and get smart with them.

"What do you want, airheads?"

"Ooh. Nice one, miss mighty Strigoi slayer. You think you're all badass now 'cause you killed a few undead? You think we owe you anything? 'cause we most definitely don't." a Moroi named Christy retorted.

"I don't have time for this. Just move it." Rose said when she felt Adrian's calming hand on her shoulder.

"Look at her trying to run from a fight." Said a Dhampir named Mina, "I bet she isn't even as good as they claim. She probably just slept with a bunch of people until they decided to give her all those tattoos. That's how these blood whores get down."

"What did you just say to me?"

By this time the whole cafeteria had gathered around to watch. Rose was getting a reddish tint to her face. She was pissed off. Obviously Lissa couldn't do anything but stand by and watch, and the guys couldn't hit girls.

"Did you not hear me? I said you're a filthy, disgusting little blood whore."

Mina's friends stood there and laughed in our faces. Rose was about to pounce, but Adrian quickly picked her up and carried her away. Eddie helped restrain her while Christian ushered Lissa away. All that left was me, and I was not gonna let this go down that way. I had to stick up for my friends.

"Umm, excuse me little miss hot head." I said to grab Mina's attention, "I believe you owe my friend an apology."

Rose and the others all turned back my way, as did the rest of the café. Mina and her friends stood shocked like they hadn't expected me to speak up.

"You have the audacity to speak to me like that? Just who do you think you are anyways? A wanna be princess? Who the hell shows up to school in a limo?"

"Hey, Mina, she's only a Moroi. I bet we could take her."

"Nah. I want this slut all to myself."

Hold up. Them? Take me on? No way could this psycho really think she had a chance at winning against me. And she just called me a slut. Mind you, I used to take anger management classes at my old school. They hadn't really made too much progress with me quite yet. So now I was pissed off.

Moving a little too fast for them to really see me coming, I rushed Mina and caught her by the throat. Her eyes got really big and round. She hadn't seen that coming. She tried to pry my fingers off her neck, but I just squeezed harder. Slowly, I raised her in the air for everyone to see.

"What was that you were saying?"

She couldn't answer due to the fact that she was struggling to breathe. I swung her around and slammed her onto a table. She had food in her hair and all over her clothes. I leaned over her as she practically hyperventilated on the table. I had loosened up on her throat a bit so that she could catch some breath for what I wanted her to say.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear the first time. You owe Rose an apology." I said very slowly. I could feel my temper slipping from me. She was taking too long to answer and I was a very impatient person. I raised her head a little then wacked it into the table so she would get the picture.

"I-i-i-I I'm ss-soor—ry R-Rose. I di-didn't mean it."

"Now that's more like it. Rose, do you accept?"

"Hmm. Gimme a day or so to think on it. I'll get back to you, Mina. For now, whatever punishment Kyran sees fit is okay with me."

Yup. After hearing that cold blooded response I knew that Rose and I were related. It brought a wicked smile to my face and just brought out the bad side of me. I raised my fist to punch Mina, but wouldn't you know it, Josh decided to show up for lunch at that exact moment. He came and grabbed my hand.

"God, I hate you right now."

"Kyran, let her go. You're upset. You're not thinking straight. You don't really want to do this."

"Josh. Joshy. Are you sure about that? Are you a hundred percent sure that no part of me wants to hurt this girl?"

Josh stared deep into my eyes knowing the answer but not wanting to admit it out loud.

"That's what I thought."

"I'm not gonna let you do this and ruin everything you've built."

Knowing that I wouldn't just give in to his words, Josh gripped the tops of my arms and began slowly tugging me away from Mina. He didn't wanna pull until my grip on her was gone, because it would probably take off her head. I realized it was either slow tugging all the way to the room, or me letting Mina go and getting Josh off me even faster. Since I really didn't wanna be touched right now, I chose the latter.

I pulled Mina up to my face, "You better thank Josh for saving your life 'cause you just got real lucky." Then I threw her across the room so that she landed in a group of people and didn't hurt herself too badly.

Josh didn't hesitate to rush me out of there as soon as my hand was off of Mina. Being me I couldn't just let him take me without some sort of resistance. I wriggled in his arms until he leaned into my ear and whispered threats in Spanish. Soon after, I stopped struggling against him and just let him carry me to the room. And when I say carry, I mean my feet weren't hitting the floor. He had closed his arms around my waist and was moving slightly faster than normal speed for these kids towards the guest housing. I thought we were going to my room, but we ended up three doors down in his.

Once inside, Josh literally threw me onto the bed and sat down in a chair. He had no reason to guard the door because we both knew that he was faster and stronger, so he could catch me and hold me down by the time I turned the lock. I knew he'd let me go when he felt I was stable, but I also knew that might not be for a while; so instead of running, I crossed my arms and turned away from him. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I heard Josh sigh heavily. Out of curiosity I looked at him. His head was in his hands and he was shaking it back and forth.

"Josh, you okay?" I asked with a hint of an attitude.

"Kyran, why would you do this? How in the hell am I supposed to cover up for that?" he yelled.

"I don't know." I answered back in somewhat of a weak voice.

"Do you have any idea how hard this is going to be to explain?"

"No."

Josh stood up and towered over me, "You're probably gonna get some kind of suspension. And hopefully I can convince them not to call your father so I don't have to explain this to him. Kyran, why must you be so hot headed all the time?"

I shot straight up from the bed and got in Josh's face, causing him to have to take a couple steps back, "I don't know and I don't care! She deserved it!"

The thing about Josh and I, we couldn't stand each other, but we'd been together for so long that we knew one another. That's how he knew the look in my eyes and the tone of my voice. He eased up with the yelling and spoke to me calmly.

"Ky, tell me what happened. All they said to me was that you were in a fight and I came running."

"She…they…the girls got in our faces. At first they were on Rose. Then they decided to get on me too. She called Rose a blood whore, then she called me…she called me a….

"She called you a what?" Josh asked with sincerity.

"She called me a slut." I said through clenched teeth.

Now Josh understood why I was so furious. I'd only even been called a slut - well at least to my face - once before. Some guy I was dating didn't get what he wanted from me so he decided to convince a bunch of people that I was a slut. They went around calling me that for a while. Of course, my father, my mother, my trainer, none of them would let either my brother or me fight because they knew we might accidentally kill them.

One day, I couldn't take it. A group of people called it out in the hall at school. I was walking with my brother and Josh. I snapped and jumped 'em. Before Josh and Booka could pull me off, three guys and two girls ended up in permanent comas from me beating them so badly. I felt no remorse, and the families knew better than to try to mess with my father. That was three years ago.

I sat down, feeling defeated. Josh sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulder.

"I didn't mean to. It just happened."

"It's okay. She's probably not hurt too badly. You can go see her in the infirmary and -

"No. no. no! I'm not worried about her. I could care less. She deserved everything she got. And you know what? I think she needs a little more."

With Josh off guard like that, I hopped up and ran to the door. No use. By the time I got it open he had snatched me back and locked it. I was thrashing around in his arms so much that he had no choice but to throw me down and lay on top of me to keep me still. I squirmed beneath him before finally giving up.

"Fine. You win. I give up."

"Glad you see things my way. Now, I'll talk to Kirova and see if I can get you off with a two day suspension. And I'll see to it that your father doesn't hear about this."

"Don't tell Booka either."

"Kyran, I -

"Please Josh. Just this one time." I said in the most desperate and pleading voice he'd ever heard from me. My big eyes are what must have done the trick.

"Okay. But once and only once."

"Thanks, Josh. This is twice in our lifetime that you've proven to be a little less than the jerk I know you to be."

"Whatever, punk. And you've proven yourself to be more than my best friend's bratty little sister."

"Hey! Take that back."

"Make me."

"I would if you weren't crushing me. You're so lucky right now."

"Uh huh. You're all talk. And don't even think about grabbing my junk again. I was damn near ready to kill you last time."

"Yeah. I guess I should say sorry for that."

"Yup. Let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"The apology."

I laughed right in his face, "I said I should, not that I was going to."

Knowing I had a weak spot on my right side, Josh tickled me until I was panting for breath. I was strong, but not strong enough to withstand that.

"Okay. Okay. I'm s-sorry." I said in between laughs.

"That's more like it."

The laughter died down, and for a moment everything became still. Josh's eyes locked onto mine. We lay there staring at each other. This was weird. If anyone who knew us saw this they'd think we were trying to kill each other; that's the only way we would ever let the other get this close.

A soft knock on the door followed by a girl's voice broke the silent stare off.

"Hey, Josh. It's Meredith. Are you in there?"

"Yeah. Just give me a second."

The two of us hopped up and straightened ourselves out.

"I guess that's my cue." I said. I stopped when I had reached the door, "Josh."

"Yeah."

"Thank you." I said with the sweetest smile I had.

Meredith didn't look too happy when I walked out of Josh's room. I knew it wouldn't ruin his plans with her. Thanks to my super hearing, I could hear him working his player magic on Meredith and pretty soon she was like putty in his hands. I smiled before ducking into my room.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't know what kind of miracle Josh worked on Headmaster Kirova, but it worked. I was out of classes for two days. But as his own personal punishment, he made my training harder for those two days. He made me practice while I wasn't in class AND he brought me all my assignments. He would even stay in my room until they were all done. During my suspension we were actually pretty civil to each other.

Once my suspension was over, Josh and I went back to the way we used to act towards each other. However, every once in a while we would get a little playful, and give a little smile here and there. We found a way to live with each other. While I was suspended he and Kirova allowed me no visitors. It was hell not seeing my friends. I practically jumped them when I was released from my house arrest.

"I missed you guys!" I shouted while hugging them.

"We missed you too." Lissa said.

"What you did was soooo awesome. I couldn't even believe it. I was just happy someone shut her up since I didn't get to." Rose said.

"Yeah. I couldn't just let her walk away after what she said to you. And I saw Adrian holding you back. Girls gotta stick together. What are friends for if not to fight for you?"

Rose and I laughed a bit harmonically. At first it threw me off. Was this the girl I hated for sharing some of my DNA? The girl I wanted to keep all my secrets from? This bonding didn't mean I planned on ever telling her anything. In fact, it made me see that I've strayed from my real mission. I had to find a way back to that, and soon. But for now, I'd enjoy life; and apparently I'd be covering up my tracks before that happened. Christian was a little too perceptive for my liking.

"How did you do that anyway?" he asked. "You're only a Moroi. She's a Dhampir."

"Hello? I was upset. Ever heard of an adrenaline rush?"

"Hmmm. Not one like that."

"Well, this isn't the human world. Things are different here. But enough about me," I said to divert the attention, "I've been on lockdown for two days. I need to do something fun. Is there anyway to get out of this place?"

Christian cut me a look while the others moved on to the new topic.

"You're actually in luck." Adrian said.

"How so?"

"Queen Tatianna is sending a jet to come pick us up. It'll be no problem for us to bring you along. All you have to do is be packed within the next….hour or so."

"Hold on. The queen is sending for you? Meaning that we'd be going to the Royal Court." I said skeptically.

"Come on. I know you don't exactly like her, but I refuse to take no for an answer. You're going. I'll even invite Josh to keep you in line." Lissa offered. Little did she know that if I left the premises for any reason Josh had to come with me or I couldn't leave. After much pouting and pleading from Rose and Lissa I gave in.

"Ok. Fine. I'll go. And I'll tell Josh to get packing."

"Yay!" the two yelled. "Meet us in the front at the gates in an hour. That's when we leave. Don't be late." Lissa warned.

I turned and went back to my room. On my way there I texted Josh and told him what was up. He was a guy so it wouldn't take him too long to pack. I on the other hand was very indecisive. It would take me forever to pack; especially since I already had a reason to procrastinate. It's not like I wasn't happy for the opportunity to take a mini vacation. I just wasn't too thrilled with the destination. I just knew when the queen found out that Josh and I were at her palace she would start some kind of trouble. Oh well. I wasn't gonna back out now. I would go, make my presence very known, and enjoy every perk that castle had to offer.

Josh had to come to my room 20 minutes before we were to meet the others. He knew I wouldn't be ready on time. He came in and helped me speed up my packing process. Five minutes later we were out the door and on our way across the campus.

The seven of us were driven to a private airport and boarded on a royal jet. At first we fooled around, and I was really enjoying the flight. After a while, I removed myself from the fun and sat staring out a window. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice Josh had crept up on me.

"Hey." He called out, snagging my attention, "Just calm down. When we get there, keep your cool. Don't do anything that you might regret. Stay as far away from her and her throne room as possible. You hear me? Best behavior."

"Yeah I hear you. Just make sure you take your advice."

"Girl, please. I always keep my cool. I'm great under pressure."

"Josh, did you forget I've known you since diaper days. I'm the one person you can't fool. Need I remind you of the Nick zalesky incident?"

"That was an acception."

"Oh really? And I guess the same goes for Tim, and Rat, and Mike, and Rudy, and Terry, and Lewis, and -

"Ok. I get the point."

Leave it up to my enemy to be the person to make me feel better before landing. Once on the ground, I started to feel uneasy. The closer we got to the queen, the worst it got. Normally I always went with my feelings because they were always right. I just knew something was going to go wrong on this trip. But I just played Josh's words back in my head and figured I was just psyching myself out for trouble. I took a few deep breaths and followed the others into Tatianna's throne room. This I couldn't avoid. We had to be announced and pay our respects to the queen…even though I had absolutely no respect for that woman.

One of her guards announced us then went to go stand in position with the other guardians. Tatianna stood and was followed by one of her advisors.

"Lissa. Adrian. How lovely to see you." She said with a wide smile, "Edward. Rosemary. Ozera." She regarded the others in a disgusted tone. And of course no one could call her on it because she was the queen.

She carried on talking to Adrian and Lissa in a pleasant tone until she realized that her guests did not stop there. Lissa brought us to her attention.

"Queen Tatianna, these are our friends -

"Joshua Hunter and Kyran Booka." She said our names in a voiced laced with hate.

Josh could sense that I was about to make a smart comment so he jumped in and politely greeted the queen with a bow.

"An honor to be in your presence my gracious queen." He said. Josh really was a great liar.

"Hmph. Just see to it that neither of you brats disrupts me or my palace." She said before returning to her throne, "You ma be gone now. All of you."

I smiled as we turned and left. She was mad and that made me oh so happy. Josh slightly shoved on my back to hurry me out of the room and avoid trouble. This would definitely be an interesting trip. One to remember.

After getting settled in to our rooms, we all began to relax. No school, or work, or responsibilities to worry about. We just did our thing. Rose and Eddie went and had themselves occupied with having some of the guardians show them techniques. Lissa and Christian had run off into the sunset and were spending some quality time together. Adrian and Josh were being guys. Flirting with the help and the other guests, getting massages, playing pranks on people. Josh was immune to trouble just by being with Adrian.

I spent most of my time in my room texting and reading. I made sure to keep to myself and remain quiet. I was actually feeling extremely tranquil and at ease. I didn't even remember to eat. It wasn't until a little after midnight that I realized I'd fallen asleep with my phone and book in my hands. A light knock came at my door before it opened. Lissa and Rose told me to get dressed because we were going to one of those parties held in the lower levels of the castle. At first I declined, but then I decided it'd be fun. I needed to get out of my room anyways.

After throwing on a short, clingly black dress and matching pumps, I pulled my hair up and left with my friends. The guys were all waiting for us downstairs. We danced, we ate, we played games with the other Moroi, and the few Dhampir that were there. It was a royal party, literally. Our generation of Royals could be seen all over the room. It was definitely turning into a night to remember.

Now once I get into the party mode it's hard to get me out. I was a hard core party girl. I didn't smoke or do drugs, but I put my high tolerance for liquor to good use. I had been throwing back shots non stop and wasn't even slightly buzzed yet. However, Josh started to get worried. He saw my excessive drinking and knew that partying wasn't the only source behind it. The queen was most definitely on my mind. All night royals had been coming up to me and holding up conversations. All but Josh were surprised at my popularity with these people, since I wasn't a royal. It was this very thing that made me think even more on the issues between my family and Tatianna.

As I was about to down another drink, Josh came and took it out of my hand. When I tried to grab it back he drank it.

"Now what'd you do that for?"

"Kyran, you need to cool it. I get that you're stressing, but drinking is not going to solve it."

"Josh you should already know this liquor isn't doing a thing to me. I don't care about the queen. She's beneath me as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, I still want you to lay off. Okay? Just for a little while."

I rolled my eyes and turned away; a signal to Josh that I would comply. Satisfied, he left me alone and returned to flirting with Moroi girls. While mingling, I happened to come across a very old friend of mine; someone who I hadn't seen since I was fourteen.

"Damien?" I asked.

"Kyran." He said in shock, "Hey. It's been a long time."

"Yeah. So does your old girlfriend get a hug or what?"

Noting my obvious sarcasm Damien closed the distance between us and circled his large arms around me. Damien was one of the very high class Dhampirs. His parents were loaded. His mom was rich in the human world and his father ran shady business among the Moroi. Even more surprising about Damien is that his parents had remained together. He didn't have one of those jerk Moroi fathers that left the Dhampir women he dated.

"I missed you, jerk. How was Italy?"

He pulled me to sit beside him by the pool as he began to catch me up on how he'd been since our break up. The break up caused by him having to go to Italy with his parents when we were freshmen.

"It was great. Clothes, clubs, super star treatment. I helped mom out with her catering."

"You can cook now?"

"Yup. Guess her culinary skills didn't skip me after all. No more burning water." We laughed at that. Damien literally couldn't even boil water back when we were together, "And the ladies love it."

"Yeah, I'll bet. Still the big ladies man, huh?"

"Of course. With looks like these who could blame me. It's a gift."

"Yeah Mr. cockiness." Although, he was right. Damien was H.O.T. hot. He had tight abs, silky blonde hair, and a movie star smile. His tan was perfectly even and complimented his hazel eyes. It was no wonder I fell for the guy. It's no wonder I was felt some of the old spark coming back.

"You're not exactly hurting in the looks department either. Still as beautiful as ever."

"Oh please. You're just saying that. You've had a taste of exotic women. I bet I'm nothing compared to those Italian models that I'm sure you had draped all over you."

"No. it's definitely the other way around. They're nothing compared to you. No other girl could ever make me fall as hard as I did for you. Sometimes I feel like I'm still under whatever spell you cast on me."

"Dam-

"You know, I still remember that first day I saw you. I believe it was eighth grade. You walked into the class and everyone was so awestruck by the beautiful new girl. And I felt so cool when you took that seat next to me. I was bragging to my buddies the whole day. Even when you're brother was glaring at me for saying hi to you at lunch. I couldn't help it. You were gorgeous then, and your beauty only got better with time."

"You still know how to give a girl butterflies."

"I felt it was only fair that you have 'em too since mine never went away."

And this is why I was crushed when Damien had to move. No matter how much of the typical high school cool guy he was, he was never anything but sweet to me. He never cared when his friends told him that he was whipped. He always said he was proud to be.

"You know, it killed me when you left." I said.

"How do you think I felt? Especially when you cried while we were at the airport. I wouldn't speak to my parents for a month."

"Really? Over little old me?"

"Trust me when I say there's no limit to what I'd go through for you."

I had to divert my gaze for a moment as a wide smile spread across my face. I knew my feelings for Damien would never completely go away. I had never actually moved on after him. Sure I dated and had boyfriends, but never anything as serious as Damien.

"So what are you doing here anyways? As I recall the Bookas don't exactly mesh well with Queen Tatianna."

"Yeah, well, my evil parents had me transferred to St. Vladimir's to learn more about… you know. It just so happens that I'm now best friends with the last Dragomir and Miss Rose Hathaway. You know. Janine's daughter. They're pretty close with Adrian Ivashkov, and the queen has made somewhat of a pet out of Lissa. They invited me and Josh here with them."

"Wait a minute. Josh? As in Joshua Hunter? You're brother's best friend and you're enemy? How did that one happen? I really have missed a lot."

"Don't get it twisted. Josh and I still aren't friends. He transferred to St. Vlad's too, and the others invited him to come along. I don't think Josh and I will ever be friends. We're just civil enough not to go at it in public."

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

"Huh?" I turned around, confused, and there stood Josh.

"Kyran, can I speak to you a minute? In private." Josh almost growled, giving Damien the evil eye. I knew exactly what was about to happen and so did Damien.

"Hey, it's ok. Here," Damien took my phone, put his number in, then sent my number to himself, "Call me. We'll keep in touch from now on."

Damien gave me a light kiss on the cheek. My heart fluttered, and I had to struggle to keep myself in control as he walked away. I was literally pulled from my daze by Josh's grip on my arm. He pulled me away from the party and into a dark corner.

"What did you do that for?" I yelled in a whispery voice.

"Me? What were you doing? You know better than to be around Damien."

It was true. If it hadn't been for my mother's ways of persuasion, I would have never been allowed to date Damien. He had a bit of a bad boy streak. He was big trouble. That was one of the things I liked most about him. It was also the thing my family hated. Sure he was perfect when it came to me, and always respectful to my family; but, when it came to anything else, the boy was reckless. When he moved I was pretty much forbidden to see him.

"We were just talking and catching up. It has been awhile in case you forgot."

"What would your father say? And Booka would come rushing if I told him."

"NO! Come on Josh. There's no need for any of that. Look. I'll stay away from him until we leave okay. No more Damien. Are you happy?" I said before walking away.

"Ecstatic." He retorted.

We didn't get back to our rooms until the sun came up. I assumed I wasn't the only one planning on sleeping the day away. I didn't wake up until two when I heard a loud knock on my door. Still feeling drowsy, I almost fell out of bed, and stumbled towards the door. It turned out I was letting in the wake up crew. Rose, Lissa and the others all entered my room full of life. I ran to hide under my covers, but I was to tired to fight them off.

"Rise and shine sleepy head. Time to have some fun." Rose said enthusiastically.

"No fun. Just sleep."

"Uh-uh. You stay in here you'll sleep your whole vacation away."

I looked at them for the first time and noticed that they were all in swim wear.

"Aw you guys are going to the pool. I didn't pack a bathing suit. Too bad. Guess I'll just have to stay in bed."

"Not so fast. We bought you one." Lissa pulled a cute black bikini from behind her back. I checked the tag and groaned when I saw that they had gotten the sizes right.

"Exactly. Now hurry up and get decent. We have a lot to talk about, miss flirt-with-hot-guys-by the pool."

I couldn't help but smile as she reminded me of Damien.

"I figured that might get your attention. Now hurry it up princess."

They all left me to get myself together. I showered and whatnot, slipped on the bathing suit - which actually looked great on me - and did my hair up in one long braid. I grabbed a towel and went to join the others at the pool.

I have to hand it to Tatianna. Her decorator was fabulous. The pool more resembled a lake with a waterfall. The water was an indigo color flowing from a stony waterfall. There were diving boards, and cliffs to jump from or lounge on. I took a seat beside the sunbathing best friends.

"So, what exactly do we have to talk about now?" I asked.

"Don't play as if you don't already know." Lissa said.

"What were you doing chatting it up with Damien Smirth? Don't you know he's bad news?"

"Funny. He never was when he was with me. I guess he needed my guidance to keep him on the right path."

"Wait? What?" rose and Lissa said at the same time.

"You know him?"

"We went to school together before he moved to Italy. We dated for like 2 years."

"Whoa baby. You had that God-like creature on your arm? I'm officially jealous for the rest of eternity."

"It didn't exactly look like he was over you." Lissa pointed out.

"Yeah, well, love doesn't just fade when it gets ripped away from you. But we both know what's done is done and we probably can't fit into each other's lives now."

"Uh huh. If that's the case then why did you two exchange numbers."

I didn't answer. I just smiled and sat back with my eyes closed. It wasn't like I actually planned on listening to Josh. It's not like I haven't snuck behind my family's back before. If I really wanted to see Damien then I would. There was no force that could stop me if they didn't know.

I actually enjoyed the pool. We played water polo, had swimming races…which of course Josh came out as champion of. When sunset was nearing we decided to get dried up. I would actually join the others at dinner tonight.

The dinner was great, and afterwards we all jus congregated in Adrian's room and watched movies. We noticed that Christian was missing for a while. Hours actually. As soon as Lissa got up to go find him, he showed up looking perturbed. Clearly something had upset him, but true to himself he wouldn't tell even Lissa what was wrong. With all the added tension in the air, we decided it was time to turn in. as I lay in my bed I could already tell that something was going to go horrifically wrong tomorrow.

I should always go with my gut feeling. I knew the trip was a mistake, and I knew that something would go wrong. I just didn't anticipate how wrong things would be all because of one little eavesdropped conversation. As we sat down to breakfast Christian decided that now would be a good time to tell us what he'd heard the queen talking about.

"I can't hold this in any longer. I have to say something."

"What is it Christian?" Lissa asked in concern.

"Yesterday, I was on my way to you guys when I over heard the queen talking to some of her advisors. She was talking about plans she had for Lissa. She want you to be in power so bad she's considering pulling you from school and forcing you to live here until its time for her to give up the throne."

"She wouldn't dare. Not with me around." Rose growled.

"That's not it. I was about to barge in when she said that there was something standing in her way. Or rather, someone. Kyran. She was going on and on about Kyran and how her family was slowly moving in on the queen's territory. She said she would do anything to keep them out of the royal court. Then she started talking about how the only way to make Kyran listen was to deal with her mother. She was talking about doing all kinds of horrible things to your mom; and to Josh to keep him grounded to. She sees you two as a real threat. She seemed very upset. I had to leave when she started walking out of the room."

There were whispers and murmurs and whatnot flowing around the room. I couldn't hear a word that was said. I was on fire and all I could think of was Tatianna's neck in my hands. I could even see it like it was happening right now. Unable to control myself, I stood up and stomped my way to the throne room. When I arrived, the locked doors just pissed me off even more. So I kicked them in. Everyone looked shocked, especially the queen.

"Tatianna!" I screamed.

"How dare you come in here without permission?"

"How dare I? How dare you? Who do you think you are?" I said while advancing on her. Guardians came at me but I threw them aside with barely any effort. Lissa and the others were stupefied at this point. A Moroi such as myself couldn't possibly have such power, nor guts as to disrespect the queen in her own home. I was almost there when I felt someone holding me down. Only one person could.

"Josh, I wouldn't be so cruel as to touch her. She just needs to be spoken to."

Before letting him respond I spun from Josh's grasp and climbed up to Tatianna' s thrown. I leaned down and towered over her cowering figure.

"Look here. You're gonna listen, and you're gonna listen good. I've tried to be civil and play nice, but you went too far. If you have a problem with me then fine. Deal with me. Don't you dare drag my family into this. And don't you ever, ever in your life threaten my mother. The issue that you have with me has nothing to do with neither my mother nor Josh. What's between us needs to stay between all of us. You say one thing about Josh that you shouldn't and you'll regret it for the short bit of life that you have left."

"And as for issue number two, you've really done yourself in now. You don't want my family to become royal because either me or my brother might end up in power, and you know if one of us does, we'll rule for a long, long, long time. My family will be inducted into the court. You can be sure of it."

I turned around and strutted from the room, "I'm leaving. See you guys at school." I called behind me before disappearing to my room and packing. On my way there I found the pilot and told him to have the jet ready in twenty minutes. After seeing the look in my eyes he hurried to get the plane ready. I continued to my room. As mad as I was I couldn't completely control my speed; so I packed a little too quickly. I was on my way to the jet when I saw Josh running towards me.

"I already know what you're gonna say Josh. I'm in big trouble. So what else is new?"

"Wrong as usual. I was just gonna tell you that what you said back there, defending me and all, thanks for that. You didn't have to do that."

"Don't mention it."

"Mention what?" he joked, "And I figured you shouldn't have to fly home by yourself, so I'm coming with you."

"Josh, you don't have to leave just for me."

"I mean, you know I don't like Tahtianna any more than you do. Plus, I miss sleeping in my own bed. I'm tired of this place anyways, sooo…."

"Thanks Josh."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'll meet you at the plane in ten minutes brat."

"Hurry it up."

I smiled as Josh ran to his room to pack up his stuff. For two people that hated each other, we sure had been saving each others' butts a lot lately. Josh was there in ten minutes as promised. As I strapped in all I could think about was the hell I would have to pay all thanks to this trip. Rose and the others would be freaking out about what just went down with the queen. I could just hear the questions now. And what would happen when cry baby queen contacted my parents. And I'm sure the kids at school would hear all about this by tomorrow. Guess there was nothing to do but sit back and just see what happens.


	6. Chapter 6

Now normally threats to my life would make me defensive, but when they come from people like Sylvia Hathaway and AmeliaBelikov I just gotta love 'em because it gives me motivation. Thank you to all the fans. Now just wait for the REAL drama to start.

~ Luvz and Kisses ~

When Josh and I arrived at the school we agreed not to speak of the incident at court. We were sure people would find out soon enough. What we hoped was that enough fear was stricken into Tahtianna's heart that she wouldn't run complaining to my father. Anything to drive a wedge between my family was like gold for that woman. I really couldn't stand her. How could someone make me so upset just by breathing and living? I wouldn't be truly happy until I personally knocked Tahtianna off her high horse.

Classes on Monday were a clear sign that someone at court had leaked info on what had happened. When Rose and the others returned, they hardly said a word to me when they passed me on the way to class. Christian didn't even talk to me in class. It was like they were walking on eggshells; afraid that I'd snap or something. Or maybe they were scared because clearly I wasn't exactly who I said I was. When I walked into my final class, however, is when things really got crazy.

"Hey Kyran, I heard you really let Tahtianna have it last week." A boy named Jesse said.

"Yeah. Nice going."

"It's about time someone put that tyrant in her place."

Left and right. Back and forth. Comments were continually being made even upon my arrival at my seat. These people couldn't stand the queen anymore than I could, and that fed into my egotistic ruler nature. instead of taking a seat and settling down like the teacher instructed, I climbed up on the table and demanded attention.

"Too long had Tahtianna been reining in tyranny. Her cold heart and giant ego keep her from being the proud ruler we need her to be. She's more concerned about herself and what she wants, rather than the good of the people and what our race needs. Well enough is enough. It's time to take back our lives. We are the future and it's time we had a new leader."

"Yeah!" it was nice to hear the class agreeing with me.

"And I nominate Kyran as our new queen."

Whoa. Now that one I wasn't expecting. And it's not like they allowed me to protest my nominations. Before I knew it I had been hoisted onto the shoulders of to hot guys, and the class was storming out of the rooms. Texts were being sent all over the school updating everyone, and summoning them to the gathering in the courtyard. I sat on my "throne" in front of the entire high school. Josh was present. Rose and the others were there as well. All eyes were on me as the students chanted my name and complimented me. Who was I to stop them from worshipping the face of truth. I planned on becoming their ruler anyway, so why not practice. I'll tell you why not; because for some reason my happiness is always followed by some consequence.

It took a while to calm everyone down. Kirova had to make several threats before everyone got tired of seeing and hearing her. The crowd dispersed and I was dragged into her office. Of course Josh was there. She was so upset she was speechless for about a half an hour. Eventually she just dismissed me and told me she'd deal with me later, not allowing me the chance to speak. I tried to explain to Josh what had happened, and that it was my fault, but he didn't want to hear it either. And with my friends avoiding me, I was on my own. I had other friends so it was no problem for me to get along out here. I made it through the next day with no trouble.

Now Wednesday was a different story. I was on my way to meet Josh for my afternoon practice when who should stop me but my sister and her crew.

"I know we need to talk, but can it wait? I'm kinda late for something." I said.

"No." Rose responded, clearly upset, "We want answers. Obviously there's a lot you didn't tell us. We want to know what's going on and we want to know now. What's your beef with the queen? And what the hell was that at court? You just blocked all those guardians like it was nothing. I thought you were a Moroi. Even if you were a Dhampir you still wouldn't be able to do that. Explain."

Rose, I really can't right now."

"Why not?" Lissa asked in her sweet voice, "We were so nice to you. Whatever it is, we wouldn't have judged you. How could you lie to us like that?"

"I didn't exactly have a choice. It's just the way things have to be."

I tried walking away but they refused to have that as an option.

"Not so fast. You can't just give us that cryptic answer and then try to run off." Rose really was related to me if she was this stubborn. She refused to take no as an answer.\

Whatever chance I had of escaping had officially been ruined. Josh came from around a corner and was walking straight towards us, but he wasn't alone. Following close behind him was none other than my father. I guess I had finally gone and crossed the line to have him be called here, because neither of them looked at all happy. They were on a mission.

"What are you doing here?" I asked my father, careful not to address him as such.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? Kirova _and_ Josh called me. Apparently it's getting to the point where you're out of control. I thought we discussed this. Low profile. Best behavior. What happened to that?"

"I just couldn't. You know Tahtianna gets to me. It's like she's under my skin. And she threatened my mother. I know you don't think I was just supposed to let her get away with that. Would you? Would Booka? No. so why should i?"

"And what does that have to do with the riot you caused a couple days ago. I didn't even know about the incident with Tahtianna. Kirova called me about the riot and Josh told me that I needed to come out here because he didn't know any other way to get through to you."

"You rat! You sold me out? How could you?"

"Don't blame him. Joshua is doing a fine job considering who he's dealing with. You're a handful. He did the right thing in contacting me. He should've done it the minute you began acting out. And now I'm hearing about a fight and some girl ending up in the infirmary."

"Oh that's old news."

"Yet this is the first time I'm hearing about it."

"Don't over react. She wasn't even hurt that badly. She recovered after a day or two. Maybe just a little bruised up at most. Not a big deal."

"Yes. It's a very big deal." And then he started yelling in Turkish. He probably figured he'd end up saying some things that no one but he and I needed to be able to understand. It was heavy Turkish back and forth. Thank God it wasn't the normal double parent plus my brother arguments that my family gets into. They triple team me and I end up jumping back and forth between languages. It gets confusing sometimes.

And then it happened. We found our way back to English and gave away everything. We never would have switched back if Rose hadn't intervened.

"How do you know my father?" Rose asked.

"Rose, stay outta this." I growled.

"Kyranyetta, don't you think it's time you stopped the charade and fessed up?"

"_Papa_, no - "and I realized I just called him my father. The jig is up.

"Why did you just call my father pap?"

"Rose, this is…it's hard to explain."

"Kyran!" a voice called from behind me.

"Jose? What are you doing here?"

"Papa called me. It's time she knew."

"No! That was never he plan. I was supposed to come here, learn all I could about spirit and shadow kissed and then leave. "

"What is going on?" Rose screamed."

"Kyranyetta Amyarra Shyary Booka-Mazur!" my father and brother yelled using my full legal name. I knew they meant business and I was really being scolded. After all these years I still hadn't grown accustomed to it.

"Alright. Alright. Just for once please stop ganging up on me! Every time something happens or goes wrong you two always turn on me and I'm left alone to defend myself. I have to defend myself against you on top of dealing with whatever is going on. Do you think this is easy for me?"

"All my life I hated her. Before I even met her I hated her and that Janine. Even though you were never with them I still had to share a part of you with them. You left my mother and went to her. Rose was here before me. You went off and protected her and did all this stuff for her even when she didn't know about it. You've never yelled at her and I know she's acted out in school just like I have. And now the one thing that belonged to our family is now a part of her life too. Why did she have to be shadow kissed?"

By now I had tears pouring down my face, but I was far from down. My brother, my father, and even Josh tried to reach out and comfort me, but I really wasn't in the mood to be touched or to be calm. This argument had been coming for a long time, "And then you take me from the home that I had finally found in this stupid country and shipped me across the nation. I didn't wanna come here. There are plenty of other spirit users who have shadow kissed companions. It was all of you that thought me meeting Rose would be a good thing. Well I've had nothing but problems since I've got here. And now I'm pretty sure that nothing can get any worse after this. So yeah Rose, I'm your younger sister. Happy now? Are all of you happy?"

"Kyran -" my father tried before being interrupted by an explosion.

Saying it couldn't get any worse just seemed to jinx the whole situation. An entire wall of the school had exploded open and people were either running or falling from the building in terror. Dozens of Strigoi were chasing them through the courtyard. Immediately our little group went into defense mode. Besides my father, Christian was the only one who knew how to use defensive magic. It wouldn't have made much sense for Lissa and Adrian to try. What could they do but use compulsion, and they weren't even all that advanced with that. And there was no way my brother, Josh, or I was going to let my father fight. Us, Rose, and Eddie circled around the Moroi in our midst and got into attack mode. I was hard and ready, until I saw who came out of the school next.

There was a group of Strigoi slowly walking out into the chaos. The two in front seemed to be in charge. One had brown hair while the other was blonde. They were both tall and looked in our direction with wicked grins like they held some power over us; and they did. The one with the brown hair was easy to recognize, although evil had taken over his face. He was famous guardian Dimitri Belikov a.k.a. my sister's former lover. Except, as they locked eyes things didn't look so former to me. They still connected.

Now the blonde bastard was someone I recognized from a very long time ago. I'd had to fight against him for my life when my brother and I were just children. He was a man named Antonio Corvaski. He had been trying to have my brother and I join the Strigoi in the fight to take over the world. He knew of our special characteristics and figured one of us could be the test subject to his theory that we wouldn't lose our magic if turned. He wanted us to help him take control. And he wanted Josh as our guard. Unfortunately for him, childlike innocence kept our evil natures from him winning us over, and we narrowly defeated him. Yet, right now, I was ready to give myself up to him for the man held in his arms the key to my heart. My mother was hanging unconscious in the man's clutches.

"Mommy!" I almost ran to her, but my brother held me back, "What are you doing?"

"Don't you see? He's baiting us Kyran. He wants you to rush over there. Mommy is part of a trap"

We could hear Antonio's chuckle from where we stood, "How intuitive Jose. Guess you're just too smart for me to fool. I was counting on at least getting Kyran."

"You bastard. Let my mother go now!"

"Now. Now. Play nice and I'll give your mother back unharmed. All you have to do is come with me."

"No way! We are not going anywhere with you!" my brother shouted.

"Jose, while having all three of you would be the ultimate prize, it isn't exactly necessary. From what I understand, Kyran is actually more powerful than both of you. She's all I really need. The only one I really want."

"There's no point in taking her. She had no idea how to work her powers. It'd be pointless."

"That may be true, but there are ways of training her. It'd only be a matter of time before her true power is unleashed. Until that time, we'd still be invincible with the power level she has now. Just think about it Kyran. Sweet little Kyranyetta. Don't you want to save your mom? All you'd have to do is come with us and I'd gladly let her go."

There was chaos all around me. The schools guardians and teachers were trying their best to save the students and get them to safety as the Strigoi attacked. Yet, here we stood in our own little controlled area. Antonio had me and he knew it. Anyone could see that I was almost surely going to walk over there and offer myself to save my mother. Just as I took a step forward Josh and Booka both grabbed me.

"Just let me go! I can save her. Mommy's life is more important than mine. Please just let me go to her. I'll be fine! Just let me go!"

But it was no use. Their hold was firm and I was too in tears to do anything. I was powerless to help my mother in every way possible.

"Tsk. Tsk. Shame. Not even to save your own mother. And I thought I was cold." Antonio cackled evilly, "Well, when you come to your senses, you should know how to find me, and if not I'll always be able to find you. Until next time."

It took all of Josh and Booka's strength to hold me down. All I could do is cry as I watched my mother's unconscious body be carried away. However, they couldn't just leave well enough alone. Oh no; they were too evil for that. Antonio snapped his fingers twice and immediately Strigoi began to really attack the school. Throat were being ripped out, lives were being sucked out, and teachers were really having to pool all their strength and knowledge in their struggle against the vampires. I could see a few of the instructors and guardians ushering students to the secret getaways located all over the school. Even the elementary section had to be evacuated. That left us to defend ourselves against the Strigoi.

Antonio sent his puppets after us in hopes that only Booka, Josh, and myself would survive. Hopefully the guys would also be distracted enough for me to sneak away and come to my mother's rescue. That was his plan. Too bad I was smart enough to figure it out. Normally I could tell when he was onto the fact that I knew what he was thinking; but this time, I was absolutely positive that he had no clue. He would be fuming when he discovered that I wasn't coming after him. There was no way he'd see me at the secret location I knew he had jus a short 20 miles away from the school. How do I know this? Let's just say I have a really DEEP history with Antonio. One that even my family doesn't know about. And speaking of family, I had to focus and protect mine right now.

"Okay, if we stay where we are, we're in the center of the whole fight." Josh pointed out, "And Booka and Kyran might get a bit distracted in the middle of all this chaos. They'll go into attack mode and things could get hairy. Our best line of defense is to fight our way off school grounds and to safety."

"Kyran and I can manage on our own. We have to do something about the Moroi."

"Lissa and Adrian definitely have no offensive powers that won't drain the life out of them. I know from experience that Christian and I can work well together. I'll take him." Rose said.

"Then I'll deal with Adrian and Kyran can guard Lissa." Booka said.

"Kyran," Rose looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please protect her."

"You have my word that I'll do my best." I turned to Josh, "Joshua that leaves you with my father. Please -

"Kyran, I swear to you that I'll guard him with my very life."

I nodded before we all paired off and went charging through the battlefield. If ever there had been a fight for our lives this was it. Things weren't as bad as they could've been because the Strigoi weren't targeting just us. There was plenty to distract them, so not too many of them came at us at once. However, that doesn't mean they just let us waltz out of there.

The moment we started getting close to an escape path, Strigoi began to charge us. Now I knew that Lissa and I would be okay, and that Booka and Adrian were just fine. I had to check on the others. There was no doubt in my mind that Josh could more than handle protecting my dad, but I still had to worry. While things were still somewhat clear for Lissa and I, I peeked in on the others. Josh knocked the head clear off of one Strigoi and then ripped the throat off of another. Christian and Rose were doing a great double team thing. Rose beat 'em down and Christian turned their bodies into ash.

Lissa and I didn't really come across much interference and I'm pretty sure I could guess why. Thinking that I would run to him, Antonio had most likely told his followers to refrain from attacking me as best they could. I could pretty much bet on a smooth getaway. But there was no way I would run and leave the others behind. And now that I watched out of the corners of my eye I could see that the Strigoi were on to us. They were attacking Rose and Booka's weak spots. Coming at Adrian would be easy because he couldn't fight back like Christian could. And then the unthinkable happened. Lissa and I both stopped running when we saw a Strigoi grab and hold onto Adrian.

Not only had we stopped, but everyone around us stopped. Rose had gotten distracted by Adrian being nabbed. That left Christian defenseless. And, of course, when I stopped running away that's when my family and Josh stopped fighting to worry about me. Now they were all being held down too. I stood in front of Lissa, guarding her and at the same time deciding what to do. I had an idea, and Booka could tell.

"Don't you dare! Kyran, don't be a hero! Just run and save yourself! We'll be fine!" Booka said as he struggled to break free from six Strigoi.

"Jose, no! It's okay. I'll be fine. I can't just leave all of you for dead without at least trying. I won't over do it."

"Kyran, watch Lissa!" Rose yelled, trying desperately to handle the shadow kissed urge to protect Lissa and her hormonal urge to go after her boyfriend; all while being captured by a Strigoi.

The Strigoi all stared me down with coy smirks on their faces. This was a strategy. They were holding my friends as a sort of ransom. I go with them to Antonio and they spare the lives of everyone I care about.

"I know what you idiots of the undead are trying to do. Unfortunately for you, you picked the wrong girl to mess with." I closed my eyes for concentration and inhaled a slow, deep breath. I balled up my fists and wind began to circle around me, whipping my hair this way and that. My hands began to flame as I called on only some of my power. I could feel the compulsion of spirit drawing the Strigois' attention to me. They were spirit bound. When my eyes flew open they were no longer just pink. My pupils and the white of my eyes were now the same magenta color that my eye had once been. My unearthly senses picked up the sharp intakes of breath from Rose, Lissa, Adrian, and Christian, "You guys wanna play? Well, let's play."

I pushed my hands forward to send a flame in the direction of Adrian and his captor. For a moment it seemed as though the fire would engulf them both. I head Rose scream before I used my control of wind to keep the fire away from Adrian as I shaped it around the Strigoi. The creature began to scream for his life as he dropped Adrian. A wicked grin spread across my face for soon, that same sequence repeated itself with every Strigoi present. Josh and my brother were free, and my father and the others were safe as well. One final Strigoi floated in the air, caught in the animated fist of fire that mimicked my hand movements. My real hand squeezed an imaginary figure. Blood poured from the body of the Strigoi as it screeched a wretched sound. Eventually there was no longer any life in his headless body; a body which was now charred.

Try as I did, I couldn't find my way back to my humanity. Figuratively speaking, there was blood on my hands. I had destroyed my enemy, but that wasn't enough for me. My breathing was heavy and strained. My body couldn't take too much more of this right now, and my brother could see that. Slowly, he approached me, calmly trying to talk me down.

"Kyran, it's done. It's finished. We're safe. You can stop now. You're body can't take this any longer. If you don't stop now you'll hurt yourself. Please, Ky, just calm down."

Once Booka laid his hand on my shoulder it was a done deal. I pretty much collapsed in his arms. I wasn't passed out, but I couldn't stand on my own. It took a moment to get my breathing right. Once my heart rate had settled I looked around to see plenty of _un_settled faces. Rose, Christian, Lissa, and Adrian looked bewildered.

"What the hell was that?" Rose exclaimed.

"Look, she knows she has some explain to do." Booka said.

"Damn right she does."

"Rosemary, now is not the time." My father scolded her."

"Who do you think you are?" she asked, outraged.

"Last time I checked I was your father. I'm half responsible for you being here. And as your elder I demand for you to stand down."

My father had this frightening look that he would use on people sometimes. Add that to the fact that he was built thicker and stronger than the average Moroi, plus the fact that he had endless resources that consisted of hit men and what not, and you had a very terrifying man. Scary enough to make big mouthed Rose back down.

"I lied to you; I get that. And I'd love to tell you all about it… but I can't right now. At least… can we… can we wait until we're really out of harm's way." I said between short, jagged breaths. My attack had really drained a lot out of me.

"Alright. This is the thing. If we're all together then it'll be easier for them to catch us. "

"So what are you saying Josh? You think we should split up? That's way too dangerous. They'll just pick us off one by one. And Kyran -

"Lissa, I know it sounds dangerous, but it's better in the long run. We each pair up and stay at a string of hideout spots until things cool off. If we're together we're just a bigger moving target. So many of us relocating is too obvious. Separated, we'll have less people for each of us to worry about, and we'll be able to hide and move around quicker. Then, we'll all meet up at a final location and figure things out from there."

"So who's splitting up with who?" Christian asked.

"Well first of all Rose and Lissa have to split." Booka said.

"What?" they both yelled at the same time.

"No. I think he's right."

"Who asked you Ozera." Rose shot back angrily, "How could that possibly be any kind of a good idea. It's easiest for us to protect each other because -

"Of the bond." Josh interrupted, "I know. That's the very reason why Rose should go with Adrian. They have no offense except for compulsion, but they have great defense and awesome resources. Rose can check up on Lissa at anytime and Lissa and Adrian should be able to read minds and dream walk. That's an easy update on anything that's going on."

"I guess you're right." Lissa said sheepily knowing that Rose was not going to be the bigger person and give in, "Rose, I'll be okay. I promise."

"Just please be careful Liss."

"Promise."

"Okay, we don't have time for this mushiness. Back to business." Josh could be really cold when he had to, "Lissa and Adrian, first I want you to stay with the queen for a few days; maybe even a weak. If she doesn't know what's going on by now then fill her in so she can get someone on clean up duty at the school. After that go to Adrian's parents house, and stay at as many of the less known vacation spots your families have. Don't stay anywhere except court for more than a few days."

"Got it." The spirit users replied in unison.

"Good. Next, I want Rose with Christian."

"I knew I was gonna get stuck with him."

"I knew I'd get stuck with her." Their complaints mushed together at the same time.

"You two may not be each other's biggest fans, but you work well together. You can do he most damage to Strigoi together. Rose is very alert, Christian is very observant, and they both know how to fight and kill Strigoi. Lissa would only be a distraction to either of you. Do not try and stay with your mother Rose. Stay with Christian's aunt for a little while. We'll have Abe contact you guys within twenty four hours of our separation with a few hideout spots. We'll get you transportation and a few lookouts. There is absolutely NO deviation. Am I clear?" he pointedly looked at Rose during that last part.

"Whatever." The new pair mumbled.

"Look. Already working as a team."

"Now is not the time for jokes Adrian." Rose scolded.

"Booka, you stick with your dad. With all the contacts he has you two should be the safest. You already know your limits, and you've got a better head on your shoulders than that bratty sister of yours so I don't even need to give you instruction."

"Hey! I am right here you know. I can hear you. And from what I'm hearing it sounds like I'm stuck with you."

"That's right princess. I'm all yours for the next couple of weeks."

"Life just keeps getting better and better don't it?" I replied sarcastically.

"Someone must be feeling better; or does nothing faze that attitude of yours?"

I send a slight growl Josh's way before easing back into the comfort of my brother's arms.

"We'll all walk to the bus station together. Once we get you four on your buses then we'll split. When everyone gets to their first destination make some sort of contact with anyone of us that you can and make sure the message that you're safe gets passed on. If we don't hear from you then we'll know there's trouble and that we need to regroup and come help."

As Booka cradled me and began walking towards the road I really took a good look at Josh. For the first time ever, I admired his skill with organization. He really had a way with people. And he came up with that plan on the spot. There were a few dangerous holes, but it was pretty awesome improvisation. I couldn't believe that I was in awe of Joshua Hunter of all people.

Since no one could move as fast as my brother, Josh and I, the pace had to be kept slow and controlled so that the Moroi could keep up. My father was doing fine, but Lissa and the others weren't trained for this kind of thing. And on top of that, we had no blood to keep them energized. Hopefully we could get inside a bus station before the sun came up or else we'd really be in trouble. If any of us got any weaker it'd be hell trying to keep all of us alive. In the state I was in they'd never let me do another attack, and my brother wouldn't dare try one while I was so vulnerable.

Thank God that after four hours of walking, we managed to make it to the bus station before sunrise. We also made it there without being attacked. I had fallen asleep in Booka's arms. He gently shook me awake when we were inside. I guess we'd been here for a while since I was laid out on a row of chairs and they were trying to board Lissa, Christian, Adrian, and Rose onto two buses. I stretched, stood up, and made my way to the terminals.

"So this is where we all part ways." I speculated, "Everybody please be careful."

"It seems like we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for you." Rose spat.

"Listen miss bitterness, don't take it out on me. You're just mad you're finding out that there are secrets even you never could've dreamed about your family. You think your mom didn't know about this? And you've been wondering about my beef with the queen. You and miss Janine Hathaway are most certainly a part of it. Besides, if I'm not mistaken Dimitri wasn't standing to far from the ringleader back at the school." I knew it was kind of harsh to throw Dimitri in her face, but she pushed me there, "That's right, I know all about it. Don't look so shocked. I know a lot of things that you don't. You're ex boyfriend was holding my mother and standing right next to my - uh, Antonio back at the school."

"Standing next to you're what?" Booka asked.

"Nothing Jose." Crap. I'd called his real name. now he knew I was hiding something.

"Kyran, what were you about to say?"

"Jose, now really is not the time. I'll confess everything when we meet back up; when we're all safe. Okay? Please."

"Fine. But you are in the biggest trouble with me right now."

"Jose, we're splitting up and possibly walking to our deaths right now. Please don't leave here mad at me. I can't leave here and focus on staying alive if you're upset with me."

"Come here, Ky." I took a few steps closer to my brother and let him pull me into a hug, "Kyran, I promise I'm not upset with you. I love you. I just need you to do me a favor and don't you dare pull a stunt like you did back there while I'm away. Come back to me in one piece, okay?"

"Yes, Booka. I promise. _Te amo_."

"_Te amo, tambien_. I love you little sis."

"And do me one more favor. Please take care of daddy."

My brother and I shared a silent look that said so much, "I won't let anything happen to our father." I could hear unsaid words about the safety of our mother in that one short sentence. I kissed my brother on the cheek before stepping back.

"Joshua Hunter. You take care of my baby sister, you hear me? You're my boy. You've been my boy since we came out the womb. I'm trusting you with her life. And do not let her try and save mommy."

"I got you Jose, don't worry. I won't let miss bratty outta my sight. _Nos estamos hermanos_"

"_Si. Para siempre_."

My father had walked away to make a few calls and set up some hideouts for all of us. We each had a way to contact someone. Lissa and Adrian had numbers where they could reach my brother and I, or be connected to my father. After a short stare, we all turned and went our own ways. I held back tears that were threatening at the brim of my eyes. I refused to lose my family. I'd do anything it takes to have my family back together; alive.


	7. Chapter 7

For everyone that has been dying from day one for Kyran not to be perfect, now you have it. She can be weakened. She's not just an all powerful fighting machine. She has limits. And for all those waiting to see Dmitri appear, there you go. And trust me there will be drama.

~ Luv and Kisses ~

Twenty minutes after leaving the bus station Josh and I were slinking through the woods. Now that we were on our own we didn't have to worry about bringing down our full speeds for the others. Unfortunately we were still moving at the slow pace seeing as I hadn't recovered my strength yet. At least I could stand now, unlike before.

"Josh, I'm just holding you back. I'm slowing you down so go on without me. I'll follow your scent and meet you where ever you decide to stop." I said while leaning against a tree.

"No way. I made a promise to Booka. I'm stuck with you no matter how much you annoy me."

"Well gee, thanks for sugar coating it. Tell me how you really feel."

"Just shut up and keep moving."

I rolled my eyes and struggled to keep from attacking the jerk. Reason won out against instinct since I knew there was no way to fight him in such a state. The sun was really starting to rise now. The sky was a pale blue as day crept closer. Josh and I were the safest two in the sunlight, because he wasn't a Moroi and the sun didn't drain my energy like it did normal Moroi. Then again I was only half that. I was glad to be a weirdo.

"Keep alert." Josh warned when the sun was visible in the sky, "Strigoi may not be able to come out in the day, but they clearly have human, Dhampir and Moroi allies that can."

"How do you figure that?"

"Someone had to have let them into the school. And you know as well as I do that there are endless corrupt people out there that would give anything for power and immortality."

"I'm sure we can more than handle them."

"Maybe I can manage, but you definitely can't. If these people have ditched the law and morality enough to work with Strigoi, then they probably have no problem using weapons and offensive magic better than Christian's. And after that stunt you pulled back at the school, you are in no shape to be defending yourself. My goal right now is to get us to safety, and get some meat in both of us."

"Will yours be live or dead wolf boy?"

"Haven't decided yet vampire chick." He said with a slight grin on his face.

"I meant that as an insult."

"I know." He chuckled causing me to groan in annoyance.

Pretty soon Josh and I were out of the forest and in a small town. We were many miles away from the school and Antonio's hideout. We walked into a Burger King and took a seat in a secluded corner. Since credit cards were easily traceable none of us would use any. Instead, my father had given each of us enough money to work with and told us to contact if we needed more. I could always draw some directly from any of the multiple accounts my family had. Josh and I were all set.

"I'm gonna go get us some food. You start thinking of what we need before we find our first hideout."

"Okay." I said as Josh got up and left me for the first time since the attack. Suddenly I felt lonely. I shook the feeling and made myself alert. I had to feel the presence of those around me to make sure I wasn't being watched. All was clear. And although I couldn't really control my spirit powers, I tried my best to peek into the minds of the other customers. Josh returned fifteen minutes later with a pile of food.

"God, who are you trying to feed? A sumo wrestler?"

"Don't be one of those valley girls worrying about her figure. We both know we eat like starving wolves - no pun intended" he added, causing a smile to spread across both our faces, "And you know you won't take on any of the weight so stop whining."

"Whatever. And just so you know I think we're all clear. No one is watching or following from what I can tell."

"Alright. Now about this hideout situation."

"I was thinking a hotel. There has to be one somewhere around here –-

"Uh uh. No hotels. Sorry."

"What? Why not?"

"Keep your voice down."

"Sorry."

"If we stay in a hotel they'll definitely find us for sure. With you around, they'll check in every hotel for miles. They know you're high maintenance and that Adrian is spoiled. They also know a lot of us are rich. Hotels are the first place they'll look. We have to hide somewhere they wouldn't look. I saw an abandoned house on the way here."

"How do you know it was abandoned."

"My super enhanced senses. Nobody has stepped foot in that house in almost ten years."

"Great. So you want me to sleep in some cabin in the woods. Did you ever think maybe there's a reason it's been abandoned. There's probably mold, and moss, and bugs. Ugh." I shuddered just thinking about it.

"The house is just fine brat. There's nothing wrong with it. Maybe a fly here or there, but nothing serious. Certainly not a place anyone would expect to find you. But we'll need to stock up. We can't very well keep walking around town like everything is okay."

"Leave the shopping to me."

Josh gave me a look of apprehension before grabbing a burger and wolfing it down. I grabbed some food and ate too. This would be a rough journey. Me and Josh? I wouldn't be surprised if we killed each other before the Strigoi got us.

After we finished eating, Josh and I headed to a few stores. First, we needed clothes. I refused to stay in this same outfit. I'd been through too much dirt and sweated too much in the outfit. Josh told me we couldn't keep anything because we had to travel light. It didn't matter to me. I wouldn't buy too much. Just a few sweats. It's not like I couldn't afford it. I got him some stuff too. After that we went to a grocery store. The two of us could not be without food. Crankiness would take over and things would get ugly. We stocked up on snacks and meaty products. We also picked up a few pain killers and a first aid kit just in case. Josh didn't want me using any more of my power until I was fully healed.

We tried to keep the shopping bags to a minimum since we had to carry them to this abandoned cabin in the woods. I followed Josh through trees and dirt until finally, we reached our destination. Seeing the house I think I felt worse about it than I had earlier.

"_This_ is where you want me to stay. Just let the Strigoi take me why don't you."

"Let's go drama queen."

Josh pushed open the front door and I followed him inside. He told me to stay put while he checked things out. Josh disappeared down the hall. I refused to stand there holding bags, so I walked into the kitchen and began to put stuff away. Thankfully there was still electricity and running water. We'd lucked out. As I was unpacking, Josh almost stomped into the kitchen.

"I thought I told you not to move?" he said forcibly trying not to yell.

"Chill out. I knew you'd find me. And it's not like I ran off. I'm two steps away."

"Proximity isn't the issue. What if the house wasn't safe? There's a reason I had to go check things out. Do you ever use that head of yours to think? Or is that too hard for you?"

Rather than getting in a fight with him, I simply walked past him, to the door, and out of the house. Once outside I tried to break into a run. I hadn't gotten very far before Josh caught up to me. He ran in front of me, forcing me to stop. He stood, facing me, but I refused to look at him. I crossed my arms and stared at the floor.

"Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I shouldn't have said that."

"You got that right." I mumbled.

"I guess I was just sorta worried about you." He grudgingly admitted. Hearing how hard it was for Josh to say that he was actually worried, especially about me, softened me. I uncrossed my arms and made eye contact.

"Fine. Just watch your words next time."

I spun on my heel and walked back to the cabin. Inside, Josh helped me put the food away. After that we went to figure out where we'd be sleeping.

"There are three rooms and a bathroom. The bathroom is in pretty good shape. You can shower first."

"Okay. Thanks."

I showered and changed, and then Josh. We both liked long showers, so it was well into the night before we were both finished. We'd gone back to the kitchen to eat.

"So I guess now would be a good time to contact the others and let them know we're safe-oh god!"

"What?" Josh asked in a worried tone.

"Neither of us has a phone charger. What happens when they die? I can NOT have my phone die on me."

"Oh brother. Cool it. We'll just buy new ones when we switch towns. For now, conserve your battery as much as possible."

"This is gonna be way harder than I ever imagined. I'll text Booka and see what's up with the others. You go check out the rooms and figure out what you wanna do about the sleeping arrangements."

Josh reluctantly left me in the kitchen as I texted my brother. When Josh returned five minutes later I had some pretty decent news.

"What'd he say?"

"Everyone made it safe and sound to their first locations. Daddy thinks it's best if we all move at different times so no one can track our movements. They'll never know where anyone is or when they'll be there. They want us to move last. They'll call when it's our time."

"Sounds good to me."

"So what's the deal? Did you pick a room?"

"About that. I figured it'd be a better idea for us to just share a room; that way if anything happens we'll already be together. And if it makes you feel any better I'll sleep on the floor."

"What are we, in elementary? Neither of us is gonna try and jump the other in the middle of the night. We can sleep in the same bed Josh. No matter how much you get on my nerves I'd never let you sleep on the floor."

"Alright. Well I think we should get some rest. We've both had pretty long days."

I followed Josh to the bedroom he'd chosen for us. There was a covered window in case we needed a quick escape. The bed was big enough so that we didn't have to fuss about accidentally touching in the middle of the night. I pulled off the sweater that I'd thrown on leaving me in a tank top and cut off sweats. Josh pulled off his shirt and I had to catch myself when I realized I was marveling at his god-like features. He looked over at me as he rearranged his pillows.

"What are you staring at?" I asked with a curious grin on my face.

"Huh? Oh – nothing."

"Oh come on. Tell me."

"I was just looking at your eyes. Before, when you were fighting, they did that weird thing where -

"All the pink covered my eye. Yeah. It happens when - well it happens."

"Now they sparkle."

Oh my God I can't believe something that Joshua Hunter just said almost made me blush. How was I even supposed to respond to something like that?

"Thank you." Was all I could muster up as I prepared to get into bed.

''And if for any reason something happens to go wrong, or you think something is wrong, don't hesitate to wake me up.''

''Okay.''

Josh climbed in on one while I climbed in on the other. He slept on top of the comforter and I slept underneath. After a few minutes I could hear him lightly snoring. He had to be just as exhausted as I was after the past couple days. It couldn't be easy having to take charge like that as well as fighting and running nonstop. I'd been carried and slept through half of it.

I couldn't sleep like he could. I lay on my side staring at the wall. Too much ran through my mind. I know Booka had told me everything was fine, but things could have changed since then. What if something happened to somebody? I even feared for the lives of my friends who I knew were feeling pissed and betrayed. Normally I wouldn't care, but I had started to form a strange bond wit these people. I'd only ever had 1 best friend, Katya; and she was back home in Florida. Our families had known each other forever. Yet, somehow I formed a relationship with people I'd initially hated. Who'd have ever thought I'd stop hating my so called half sister. I'm not saying that I loved her like family or anything, but she had started to grow on me. I always had wondered what it'd b like to have another girl around. With Josh an Booka around I felt trapped by testosterone.

After a couple hours of my tossing and turning not fazing Josh I figured that there was no way I'd b able to sleep wit so much on my mind. I pulled back the covers, climbed out of bed, then crept out of the rm. It was time for a little snack and maybe I could get sum cable on one of these TV's.

I grabbed a pack of soft chocolate chip cookies and a bag of nacho cheese Doritos and was headed to curl up on the couch, but when I saw webs an a couple spiders I opted for the kitchen. I'd never admit it to anyone except my brother but I had a strong fear of spiders.

I turned the TV on and what do you know? I got cable! I stuck with some late night nickelodeon comedy and made myself comfortable sitting cross legged on the counter.

I never really went to sleep; I was too stressed. I may have drifted for a few moments here and there, but my worry snapped me right back into consciousness. Since I was able to adjust to a human schedule, switching back to living in the daylight hours didn't bother me.

It was midnight the next day and I was still in front of the TV. I'd only moved to refill my drink. I heard yelling and commotion coming from the bedroom. When I heard Josh calling my name I figured it was me he was looking for. I didn't even get a chance to reassure him before he stormed into the kitchen. I hopped off the counter in time for him to snatch me up.

"What the hell? I told you to wake me up if anything happened! Why do I have to get up and search for you? Huh?"

I snatched myself out of his grip and ran from the house. For the second time since being on our own I was running through the forest away from Josh. Once again I couldn't outrun him. Before I knew it Josh had tugged me to a stop.

"What Josh? What do you want from me? What could you possibly want but to yell at me some more?"

"Hey. Look at me talk to me. What's going on with you? I've never seen you like this."

Although Josh had softened his tone I still couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"This is killing me."

"What? What's killing you?"

"I'm sorry I snuck out of bed. I couldn't sleep. Everything is getting to me. I'm sooo worried. I've never been so afraid that I'd never see my family again." I cried, "I don't know if Booka's okay and it kills me that I can't just run to him."

"Ky-

"Josh, I already lost my mom; there's no way I can survive losing my dad and Booka too."

Stepping real close to me, Josh tilted my chin up so that I'd have to look him in the eyes, "_Kyranyetta_ listen to me." Josh cooed, using my real name. now I _knew_ he was being totally serious, "I know I can't promise you that everything is gonna be okay or that no one is going to get hurt in this. I'm not even positive I'll survive. But I can promise you this: I will fight with my very life to make sure that we get your parents and Booka back to you alive. Your parents have done so much for me, and you know Booka is like a brother to me. I just need you to have faith in all of us and try to keep a level head. We'll make it through this."

"But -

"Ky, do you trust me?"

Truth him? I'd always trusted Josh with my life. We only fought as much as we did because we didn't like to share Booka. I wanted my big brother and he wanted his best friend. No matter what, we could never compromise and allow those two halves to co-exist. Although unspoken, all of us knew this is why Josh and I had never liked each other; that and the fact that I was a girl and younger than them both. However, when it came to me ever having to trust Josh, I knew without a doubt what the answer would always be.

"Yes."

"Then come back to the cabin and we can just sit and relax. We have roughly two more days before we have to leave."

Even though we had both just established that we needed to move, neither of us had. Suddenly, I noticed just how close Josh and I really were. Our bodies were almost touching, his finger gently held my chin; he was staring down at me with eyes that were actually pretty beautiful when they weren't glaring at me. Any closer and we'd be kiss - no! No way. Not me and Josh. How could I even have such a thought?

"We should, uh, get back; like you said." I said barely above a whisper.

"Yeah." Josh responded after taking a step back, "You need to get some rest after that little stunt you pulled."

"Oh gosh. Will everyone get off that? It wasn't that serious." I whined as we finally started walking back.

"Yes it was that serious. Maybe you don't remember, but you _passed out_ afterwards. People don't just collapse from things that aren't serious."

"What did you guys want me to do? Just let Adrian die?"

"No, but don't jeopardize your own life trying to save his. We could've handled it. What if you would've fainted before you got rid of them? What if more would have come and we couldn't protect you. You needed your full strength."

We were back at the cabin and Josh and I were back to arguing as usual.

"Okay, but that didn't happen so we can just drop it. You guys all think I can't handle myself."

"Ky, do you even hear yourself? Do you know how scared Booka looked? Did you see his eyes? He thought something really bad was gonna happen to you. You worried your dad. You worried your brother. You worried…me."

I had to spin around after that last part, because there was no way those words could have come from him.

"Y-you were w-w-worried about _me_?"

"Duh, brat. I know we may not exactly like each other, but I still care about you. As much as you got on my nerves when we were growing up there was never a time I wouldn't have fought for you. Come inside. I got some stuff to tell you."

Josh walked past me and into the house. I cautiously, yet curiously, followed him inside. He started to lead me to the couch but I refused.

"No way. Uh uh."

"Why not- oh. I forgot you were scared of spiders."

"I am not." I tried to lie but even I knew it didn't sound convincing.

"Oh look! There's one in your hair!"

"Where? Get it out!" I started tussling my hair until I heard Josh laughing at my expense. Then I knew it was all an act, "You jerk. Don't do that."

"Then don't lie to me. I already told you I know more about you than you think; like the fact that you're deathly afraid of spiders. Who do you think first pointed it out to Booka when we were kids?"

"Well the way you treated me I wouldn't think you'd know or even care about something like that."

"You act like you were any better to me."

"So what? I was the baby in the situation; it was okay for me to act like that."

"I bet if I'd used that excuse you would have had a fit about me calling you a baby."

"Shut it, Josh."

"Would you prefer if we just sat in the room?"

"Yes please."

Josh rolled his eyes and went with me to the room. He stretched out at the foot of the bed while I curled up at the top.

"Truth is, I've always been protective of you; almost as much as Booka even. You just never knew."

"No way. Impossible."

"Remember when you thought Booka beat up Louis for harassing you?" I nodded my head yes, "Well that was me. And I helped him fight Charlie. And there were a few others I went after too. Some of them even Booka doesn't know about."

"Wow. How is it possible that someone who hates me so much has actually done a lot of me?"

"Hey! Get it straight. I don't hate you. I never have and I never will. We both know this feud is over Booka's attention. Just know that no matter how mad we get at each other I'm always here for you."

(Rose POV)

It had been so long since I'd had to adjust to living on a human schedule that I found it hard to do now. Back when Lissa and I had run away it had been fun. It had also been our choice. Now, we were forced to do it as a safety precaution. Sunlight would kill a Strigoi, so we decided as a group that it was safer to move around in the daytime and avoid any Moroi that we didn't absolutely have to make contact with. We weren't sure who to trust anymore.

Speaking of which, I couldn't believe that my life was turning into a cross between a horror movie and a soap opera. Not only does the school get attacked - AGAIN- but my evil undead ex-boyfriend is one of the mastermind's. And to top it off he's working with someone affiliated with Kyran, who is apparently my half sister. I hadn't known her too long, or my father for that matter, so I understand how it'd be easy for them to keep something like this from me; but my own mother? I know we never actually had a mother-daughter relationship, but I figured she'd at least tell me I had siblings. I wasn't alone.

Maybe they didn't want me to know. Maybe my half siblings didn't want to meet me. I know that as stubborn as I am I wouldn't have wanted to meet them. Their mother probably had all types of bad thoughts put into their head about me and my mother. But how could Abe leave my mother and go to another woman? Who knows how many kids he could have running around? I can only imagine. I do sympathize however. I know if my mother had been kidnapped I'd be distraught.

But some of the things Kyran said had my gears turning. For starters, what had happened to cause her and her brother to be hunted by Strigoi? And how the hell had she known about me and Dimitri? Was that spreading? Who else knew? What did she mean by the beef between her family and the queen has to do with me? And where the hell did all that power come from? What was that? I mean, her eyes were glowing. She looked like a killer; maybe even an assassin.

The only thing I was sure of is that when we met up, I'd be getting some serious answers and explanations. Just how much had I been unaware of all these years? I also wanted to know what Kyran's infatuation with spirit was. If she had any evil intentions then she'd stay away from Lissa if she knew what was good for her. The same goes for Adrian. I wish I were with them now. Lissa knew just what to say to comfort me, and Adrian had a touch that could calm some of my foulest moods. Besides, I needed to be in his arms to remind me that I could never be with Dimitri. It was wrong and I was sooo over him….or was i? Ugh! Why me?


	8. Chapter 8

~ Luv and Kisses ~

(K POV)

Four days later, it was time to say goodbye to the cabin in the woods. Thank God! I was starting to feel like I was in a horror movie. Clearly Josh doesn't know what kinds of things happen to people who camp out in the forest. Now we were on the move in broad daylight. We'd made communication the night before, but we were going to have to tell them when we were safely at our next destination, and both my phone and Josh's were just barely hanging on to what little power they had left. We had no choice but to stop in a store for chargers.

It took us almost twenty minutes to find and purchase the right cords. I could see Josh's frustration rising due to impatience and paranoia. I wasn't really paying attention, because, as usual, I was living in the superficial world and worrying more about my phone rather than our safety. Josh hurried the clerk and then rushed us out of the store.

"Josh, will you calm down. The way you're acting is more suspicious than if a Strigoi were to actually catch us. Act natural."

"I'll calm down when we're away from this place and further away from that school. We're too close. They might still be able to catch our scent."

I rolled my eyes and had no choice but to let Josh hurry me to the bus station. We bought the first tickets out of here and down to Texas. When I first heard where we were going I started to complain. Texas was hot and full of dirt roads. All I could picture in my mind was the cowboy lifestyle stereotypes. I didn't want the only thing I saw for the next few days to be cacti. But one stern look from Josh and I shut right up. We took turns sleeping on the bus ride. I slept for the first half, and then it was his turn.

While I was on watch duty, I kept seeing this woman looking at me. At first I thought nothing of it. I was still a bit groggy so it didn't really register. Then, I noticed that it had been three hours and she was practically studying me and Josh. It was as if she was trying to confirm our identities. I didn't exactly tell Josh about it though. Two teenagers on a bus to Texas? She probably thought we were running away together or something. Or maybe we just looked weird to her. I mean, I do kind of have pink eyes.

I was glad when the bus ride ended. I was able to get up and stretch my legs. Before leaving the cabin, we had burned all our stuff and masked our scent as much as possible. Now we'd have to buy all new things here in Austin, Texas. We got off the bus and started maneuvering out of the station.

"First we'll stop and get some food; then we can scout the area for a hideout. Okay?"

"Whatever you say is fine with me. You're in charge here."

"No, Kyran, we're a team. We work together. We have to make all our decisions together."

"Really, 'cause back in Montana I didn't get a say in anything. You didn't even let me help pick our next spot. All you do is tell me what to do and expect me to follow without complaint."

"Ugh! Kyran, why is it that we always have to go through this? Everything is always an argument with you."

"Because you say one thing and do another, Joshua. All this we, we, we stuff that you keep preaching but never put into action. I have no voice in this. I'm just someone you got stuck with by default."

"Ky -

"Save it. Let's just get what we need to find this place. I'm not really hungry so can we just go?"

"Fine. If you wanna be that way then whatever."

Angrily, Josh and I left the station and began roaming around Austin. We passed all the hotels, all the inns, and all the ranches. After maybe an hour or two of walking around the city with no luck, Josh realized that we probably wouldn't find anything abandoned tonight. We needed to get some sleep and charge our phones so we could check in with the others. If we didn't check in before midnight then they'd come running, putting everyone's lives in danger.

"Look, if we cut through these woods, we can make it to a motel in time to get a room and make contact with the others before midnight."

"Motel? Woods? I - you know what? Fine. Whatever. I don't care anymore." I said as I walked behind Josh into a thick cluster of trees.

We had been walking for ten minutes and I still couldn't see civilization yet. I had scratched my arm, torn my shirt, got hit by a branch that left leaves in my hair, and now kind of regretted not eating. I also hoped Josh hadn't gotten us lost. His senses could've been off due to lack of sleep and food. I was walking, walking, walking, and then plop! My foot had landed right in a pile of mud. I stopped and stood rigid in the dirt while letting out a muffled scream. Josh paused and spun to face me.

"What was that all about?"

"I stepped in mud! My pants, my shoes, my socks; they're all ruined. There's no way this situation could get any worse."

Suddenly, a dagger came whizzing through the trees. Josh and I just barely dodged it.

"I really wish you would stop jinxing us and saying that." He complained before we both started running.

Josh was navigating with ease while I was in the rear struggling. The mud was making my shoes not only slick but heavy. They kept sticking to the ground and sliding over it, making it hard for me to move. After stumbling around countless times in the dark I fell down. Josh, who had a pretty big lead, stopped and turned back.

"Josh just go. Leave me! I'll be fine. It's me they actually want. You can still make it out of here."

"No way. We're in this together. And I know you have more than this in you." he reached out a hand and pulled me up, "Let's go."

With new found motivation I kicked in with more energy than I thought I had and actually matched Josh in speed for once. I just assumed that he had slowed down for my benefit as always. I could tell these weren't ordinary humans trying to keep up with us. They were dhampirs who had gone over to the darkside. If they had been strigoi they'd defintely be a lot closer behind us. Apparently these people had started to dwindle.

"Josh, we're never gonna lose them like this. They're dhampirs. They can hear us and probably kind of smell us."

"How can you tell?"

"They're not keeping up with us like Strigoi could, but they haven't completely given up because of our speed like humans would. They wouldn't send humans to run after us for that very reason. And they haven't used any magic, so they're not Moroi. Only thing left is dhampirs. These woods are too noisy."

"Alright. I'm given you a say in our plans. What do you suggest?"

I knew if I told him my plan from the start he would never agree to it, so I just gave him instruction and acted like I was winging it. Hopefully I didn't overdo it and kill myself in the process.

"Get in a tree. Now."

Josh barely stopped running before slightly turning his body and jumping straight into a tree. I followed his direction and climbed up the tree instead.

"What now?"

"Shhh. Just trust me on this. Don't stop me."

"What? - Kyran no -

It was too late. I had already started gathering my power and my strength. I used water's power of illusion to cloak our presence and the power of the wind to blow our scent away from our pursuers. I had to try and block Josh out and keep my ears alert at the same time so I'd know when they were gone. It was almost impossible since the boy wouldn't stop nagging me. When he couldn't get me out of the trance he gave up, knowing we needed silence from us for this to work.

After about fifteen minutes of the dhampirs aimlessly wandering below us, and another twenty minutes of them walking out of the forest, we were safe. My overworked and underfed body realized this and immediately gave out on me. I couldn't hold myself up and fell backwards out of the tree. Thank God for Josh and his reflexes or I would've cracked my skull open. He jumped down and caught me bridal style before I could even come close to hitting the ground. I looked up at him through slits.

"Thank you."

"Kyran, I'm gonna kill you for doing this to me."

I gave a weak smile before fading into darkness for only God knows how long this time. Maybe permanently.

(Rose POV)

Christian's and my time was up with his aunt. The longer we stayed there the more we endangered not only our lives but hers as well. It took everything in Christian for him to leave his aunt. She had to remind him that she's the one that taught him his offensive magic; she knew how to handle herself. I once harbored ill feelings toward Tanya Ozera because of Dimitri, but now I adored her. She was a wonderful person. I also knew that she was tough enough to be just fine on her own.

Now it was time for us to take the four grand my father had sent to us through one of his people and get to the hideout in Olympia, Washington. We took two busses and a train to get there. I hopped off the bus and was instantly hit by rain and hard wind. I thought I would cry. I felt like I was back in Siberia again. Or maybe even Alaska. This was ridiculous. Christian and I were both in jeans and T-shirts. We had to find a store and soon. The guy who'd take us to the hideout was supposed to be waiting here for us. I could barely see through all the rain.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and reflexively spun into a high kick. Some overly tall and extremely buff guy caught my calf and placed it back on the ground.

"Rose?" he asked.

"Who wants to know?" I answered with attitude.

"Rule one of being in hiding: never answer with an attitude. It gives you away. You're father told me your street smarts were a little lacking."

"They are not!"I said defensively.

"And he was right about you being a hot head too." the man chuckled, "I'm Moussah. Follow me. I'll get you to the hideout so you can dry off and then we can take you to get whatever supplies you'll need over the next few days."

I was a little upset that he'd called me out, but I was too eager to get out of the cold to put up a resistance. Christian and I followed Moussah to his black dodge. Decent yet inconspicuous. It worked for me. He drove us to what I assumed was his house. It was a pretty good size. Three floors and a two car garage from what I could see outside. We got out the car and were led inside. What awaited us was a shock.

The moment he stepped through the door, Moussah was greeted by a little girl and a little boy tugging on his leg, and a beautiful, short, brown haired woman holding a baby girl.

"Hello, Moussah."

"My love."he responded while pecking her on the lips and then kissing the baby's forehead. He tousled the older children's hair before entering the house. We shyly followed behind them."

"I'm Mira, Moussah's wife. These are our children Lily, Kamal, and Baby Chara. We hope our home is suitable for you."

"Thank you for letting us stay here. We don't mean to impose." I said as politely as possible.

"It's no trouble at all. Your father does a great deal for this family. It's only fitting that we help his daughter in her time of need. Lily, show our guests to their rooms."

"Yes mommy."

The black haired, brown skin girl took both Christian and My hand and tugged until we followed her. She took us up to the second floor and down a long hallway. We stopped at the last door in the hallway and she opened it.

(K POV)

My head felt like it was on fire when I came to. I had to resist the urge not to scream out in pain. I rubbed my temples and took slow deep breaths over and over until the pain began to subside a bit. When I felt I was really okay, I sat up and looked around. I was in a motel room. I shivered at the thought. Me? Kryan Booka in a motel room? No one would ever believe it.

As if he was listening for a change in my breathing, Josh peeked his head out from the bathroom.

"Lay back down. I know your head is killing you. And be careful on your arms." He instructed.

Hardheaded as I was, I had been ignoring every word he said until I tried to use both arms to push up off the bed and screamed as pain shot through my left one. It was then that I noticed the wrap on my wrist. Josh limped into the room and helped me back onto the bed. He grabbed an ice pack out the freezer and held it on my wrist.

While I was recovering from that shock, I took a moment to examine myself. I was cut and bruised and scraped all over. My shirt was covered in blood, my pants were covered in dirt, and my entire body felt sore. What was strange to me was that my body hadn't started healing itself while I was sleeping. Or maybe it had and I just hadn't been sleeping very long.

"How long was I out for?" I asked.

Josh gave me a hard, evil glare before answering, "You've been out for three days."

"So why haven't I started healing yet?"

"Your crazy ass wore yourself out. All your strength and energy is drained. You're body couldn't heal you like it normally would. The most it did was keep you alive."

Clearly Josh was pissed at me. I sat up, carefully this time and stared at him as he avoided looking at me. I looked over Josh and realized that he was pretty banged up too. More so than me in fact. He arms were red and gashed in various places. His leg looked swollen. His left shoulder was out of place. His shirt was off and I could see that his ribs were bruised and he had a knife would through his belly. He was still bleeding from there was well as other places. There were even bite marks on him.

"Oh my goodness! Josh, you're in worse condition than me. Here let me heal -" I tried to touch his face but he flinched away and jumped up.

"You never learn do you?" he screamed before retreating to the bathroom. He must not have been thinking straight or else he would've known that was no use 'cause I'd just follow him. I shut the door behind me so that there was no way for him the escape. The bathroom was too cramped and he couldn't get out without hurting my injured arm. Josh faced the mirror and leaned against the sink with his head held down. He looked stressed.

"Josh? Josh talk to me?"

"Talk to you? What could you possibly want me to say?"

"Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that you're an idiot who doesn't care about anybody but herself."

"What? How can you even say something like that after the amount of times I've risked my life to save everyone? I don't care?"

"No you don't for the fact that you keep risking your life. Every time something goes wrong you resort to your magic. Your untrained magic that you can't control and always drains the life out of you. One of these days your gonna push yourself too far."

His voice started dying off at the end. Was Josh getting emotional over me? There was no possible way. I tried putting a hand to his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"Joshua, stop being a baby and just look at me?"

He'd never spun around so fast in his life. I could tell he was struggling not to squeeze me when he grabbed and shook my body, "Do you have any idea how scared I was? How terrified I've been for the past three days? Your heartbeat kept fading in and out! Sometimes you'd stop breathing! You didn't move an inch! I thought you were never gonna wake up? How do you think I felt watching you lay there helplessly? I don't have healing powers like you do! All I could do was bandage you up and hold icepacks on you! And now you wanna risk doing that all over again? No, Kyran, you don't care about how anyone is affected. About how anyone feels. About how I feel."

I was at a loss for words. Josh turned back to the sink and sunk his head down again. Knowing him he was silently regretting having just spilled his guts to me. I tried touching him again, only to get the same reaction. This time, however, I wasn't taking no for an answer. I grabbed his shoulder and twirled him back around.

"Look at me."

He shook his head no.

"Look at me!"

"I can't!"

So I said the one thing that I knew would get a reaction out of him, "Honestly, I really didn't think you cared. With me out of your hair it'd be easier for you to get through this thing."

That did the trick. I hadn't expected it to work that extremely. I let out a small yelp as Josh rammed me into the bathroom door. He bent down so that he was level with my eyes and leaned in so that our heads were almost touching.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Kryan, I do care about you. I've always cared about you."

"Why?" I whispered.

"Because I love you brat! I fell in love with you when we were little kids. I denied it because you were my best friend's sister. I couldn't like you. We tormented you. How was I supposed to turn my back on my Booka just because I fell for his sister."

"No way. That's impossible. You don't - you can't - you never-"

Josh leaned away from me and cleared his throat. He wasn't one for awkward moments.

"Look, you, uh, need to go rest your arm. Your body isn't gonna super heal any time soon so get some rest."

Josh turned to the mirror hoping that I'd listen to him for a change. Obviously he knew me better than that. I wasn't going anywhere. Especially after a confession like that. Besides, I could see that after taking care of me Josh was about to fall over.

"Joshua, why did you do this to yourself. You spent way too much time taking care of me. You should've known that I'm way to stubborn to just die. Come here. Let me help you."

At first he tried to resist, but I grabbed the cloth from him and ran the hot water. Using my right arm, I gently cleaned off the cuts on his arms. He winced, but tried to hold still when I applied the alcohol to his wounds. There was a particular gash on which he snatched back his arm in surprise.

"Stop being such a baby. Come here." I pulled his arm to my lips and gently blew, "Is that better?"

I looked up to find Josh gazing down at me. It was almost like he was in a trance. I cleared my throat to bring us both back to focus and moved onto the next part of his body…that gorgeous 8 pack of his. Josh had always had a beautiful body; I was just too hardheaded and "anti-josh" to let myself appreciate it. Now, however, it was hard to concentrate on cleaning him up.

Thank God I'd had enough experience having to bandage up bad wounds for when my powers were on the fritz. I just couldn't believe Josh hadn't taken care of the knife wound in his stomach yet.

"Joshua I can't believe you. This stab is deep. I can tell you've lost a lot of blood. After I clean this up, you're the one that needs to rest. Now hold still 'cause I think there's a chunk of glass in there and I need to get it out."

I wasn't squeamish. The thing that bothered me was the look of pain on Josh's face as my fingers entered the hole in his body and slowly wiggled the glass out.

"Ahh!" he yelled quickly once the shard was free.

"Sorry."

I dropped the rather large piece into the trash and proceeded to stop the blood falling from the wound. I ended up ripping the bottom half of my tank top off to tie around him and stop the bleeding. It would last a few minutes until I could tear up a bed sheet and soak it in alcohol. If any of his injuries needed to be sterilized it was definitely this one.

I reluctantly left Josh in the bathroom and began destroying one of the hotel sheets. I tore about three or four strips and then hurried back to the bathroom. Josh had double over in front of the sink. I pulled him up, and leaned him against the sink. I pressed my bare stomach against his body to hold him up while I soaked the sheets in alcohol. Josh winced and grimaced as I dressed him wound. I wanted so bad to heal it just a little bit and ease some of his pain, but he'd kill me if he felt anything out of the ordinary. I just finished tying the last sheet and stood up straight, admiring my handy work.

"There. All better for now. But tomorrow morning I'm gonna have to stitch that up. I'll let you rest it tonight."

"Thanks, Ky."

"_No problema_. It was my pleasure. Can't have you dying on me. They'll probably think I did it."

"You're such a clown." He laughed lightly so as not to hurt himself too much. I turned to open the door and lead him to the bed, but before I could walk through, he tapped my shoulder.

"What -" I can't actually remember what it was I wanted to say. I turned around to find Josh not even a millimeter from me. I looked up and immediately got lost in his chocolate eyes. Who wouldn't? They were gorgeous and mesmerizing. I inched closer and closer to his face. He bent down, I tiptoed. Eyes fluttering. Hearts pounding. And then - his cell went off at tip volume.

"Hello?" he answered, suppressing the urge to groan. We hadn't moved an inch until he heard who was on the other end of the phone. He flew away from me and put the phone on speaker.

"How is she?" my brother's panicked voice came through loud and clear.

"Ask her yourself." Josh said.

"She's awake?"

"Yup. And she can hear you."

"Kyran?"

"I'm here Booka. "

"Thank goodness you're alright. Now I'm gonna kill you. What happened to you not using your powers? Were you even fully recovered from the last time? Why would you do something so foolish and reckless?"

"Jose, I know what I did was wrong, and I know I promised I'd be careful, but it was the only way. I was slowing josh down and we were both gonna get caught."

"Ky, you can't keep doing this to yourself. And he told me your self healing powers aren't working. Something could have seriously happened to you. Lucky things Josh made it through the second attack or else -

"Second attack? What second attack?"

"Booka, I didn't tell her."

"Is that where all those injuries came from? Protecting me? Josh answer me."

"Kyran, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is. It's completely my fault. If I hadn't overdone it on the magic you wouldn't be in such bad shape right now. Here I am thinking I'm fixing you up when it's my fault in the first place. Oh my god. I can't believe how stupid I am."

I turned away from Josh and the phone, and proceeded to leave the room. I heard Josh hang up with Booka and tell him he'd handle me. Forgetting that we were supposed to be in hiding, I briskly walked away from our motel room. I had no destination. I didn't even know where we were. I wasn't able to get past the third door. Josh pulled me to a stop and back to the room. Once in the room I pulled away from him and looked anywhere but his face.

"Kyran. Kyranyetta. Listen to me." he unfolded my arms and lifted my face up, "This is not your fault."

"Yes it is."

"No. Last time I checked, you didn't attack me. You didn't drive a dagger through me. Therefore, none of this is your fault."

"I just feel so guilty."

"Well, stop, because I don't blame you."

"Really?"

"I swear it. "

I threw my arms around josh's neck and hugged him tightly. I was hugging him for comfort, for gratitude, for everything he'd ever done for me, to make up for my brattiness towards him. Everything and anything I could think of. When we pulled apart, I threw his arm over my shoulder and led him to the bed. I fluffed the pillows with my bad hand before gently laying him down. I picked up the ice pack he'd held on my hand and placed in on his swollen leg.

"I'll get a bigger one for your ribs tomorrow when I stitch you up. For now, the only thing left to do is to pop your shoulder back into place. Sit up for a second." Josh obeyed and sat up straight. I leaned over him and gripped his right shoulder, "You ready?"

All Josh could do was nod and tense his body. He may have been in a weakened state, but he was still tough. He didn't make a sound as I popped his shoulder back in. He did, however, fall backwards onto the bed. I fell too, barely stopping myself from impacting his bruised body with my right hand.

Leaning over Josh, I once again found myself staring into his eyes. He reached up and held me by my arms so that our bodies were touching, but not in a way that was painful for him. Josh pulled me in and resumed the kiss we'd attempted earlier; only, this time, we actually followed through with it. I'd never felt such a shock kissing anybody before. Josh's lips were soft and gentle, yet dominant. To sum it all up it was irresistible.

I straddled him like a horse and leaned down so he wouldn't have to strain himself and hold me up. Although we were full of desire, the kiss was slow and soft. In that instant, I was yearning for him to just throw me down and have his way with me, but I doubt either of our bodies could've handled it. Instead, he pulled me beside him on the bed and held me. I stroked his chest, he grazed his fingers against my arm.

After a couple hours of just laying in each other's arms, I realized that neither of us had eaten in days.

"Hey, is there a food place anywhere around here?"

"Pizza shop right next door. Why? You hungry? I can go get us some food."

"No, you lay down and rest. I'm in way better condition than you. I'll go get it. Please don't fight me on this."

"Fine. But if you insist on going, then here." Josh reached into the pockets of his shorts and pulled out a black bottle that he tossed to me. I read the label and almost chocked.

"Hair color? You want me to dye my hair?"

"Chill, it's a rinse. Jet black."

"Do I look like a jet black kind of girl to you? You want me to color my hair? Do you know how long that's gonna take to fade and wash out?"

I felt like I was losing my mind.

"Kyran, you're too easy to recognize. That hair and those eyes are a dead give away. And speaking of your eyes -" he pulled out a small container with colored contacts and handed them to me.

"Green? Green? You want me to look evil don't you? Bright green eyes and jet black hair. I can't believe this."

There was no way I could go out and compromise us again without changing my appearance first. Besides, Josh would try and fight me and he'd hurt himself. I sucked it up and grudgingly dragged myself to the bathroom. I wasn't going to be happy with this. I just knew it.


	9. Chapter 9

My deepest apologies to all my loyal fans; I know I've been M.I.A. for a while but hopefully I can say that's done and over with. Thanks for all the reviews and support and I promise you can look forward to updates very soon. As always, read and enjoy.

Love, K.C.I.C.  
_

God only knows what people were thinking of me as Josh and I arrived at our next destination, Arkansas. It couldn't be good since I wasn't thinking too highly of myself right now. In my opinion I looked like death run over twice. These green eyes were so not me. I looked possessed. And my hair - I didn't even wanna think about it. Jet black? Really? What's worse is that he'd bought some scissors and made me cut an inch off and get bangs. Among the things that we bought was a straightener. He wanted me to look as different as possible.

We had agreed on some new rules. Hats and long sleeves were to be worn at all times. We were to show as little skin as possible. I'd been silent and compliant ever since we left the motel. My body had started healing itself again and I was feeling much better, and Josh's healing powers had kicked in a little too, but something was off. He seemed different somehow.

After settling in to an inn, Josh laid on the bed and turned on the TV. This place was seriously the opposite of anywhere I would ever consider going. Dirt roads and ranches all around. I felt like I was in the wizard of oz or something; too bad that was the next state over. But as we began to relax something dawned on me that I hadn't noticed before with all the commotion.

"Josh?"

"Hmm." He answered lazily, only half paying attention to me.

"When we got attacked the second time, was there a woman with them?"

"How'd you know that? You weren't even the least bit conscious."

"When we were on the bus going to Texas, there was this woman watching us."

"What? Kyran why didn't you say something when you noticed her?"

"I didn't think anything of it. She didn't look the least bit familiar. Besides, I figured she was just curious about the fact that two teenagers were taking a bus ride from Montana to Texas. I mean we did look a little strange. I figured she just thought we were running away from home or something."

"You're….you're such an idiot! I can't believe this! You know, I didn't think you were actually capable of doing something so stupid but you've managed to prove me wrong. I can't believe I got stuck with you. I would've been better off leaving you in the woods to fend for yourself."

There weren't words in any language capable of describing the hurt I felt. Something was wrong with Josh. I knew it as soon as the tears started falling from my eyes and he didn't rush to apologize.

"Oh, you're gonna cry now? Go ahead. Be the brat that you are."

"Josh, what's up with you? Why are you being like this?"

"I'm tired of having to babysit you. This whole thing is your fault."

Something was definitely off. Even when we hated each other Josh had never said anything so mean to me. And he'd been edgy ever since we left Texas. I had to try and keep it together long enough to get to the bottom of this.

"Josh, just talk to me." I tried again, making the mistake of laying a gentle hand on his arm. Instead of the reaction I'd hoped for, Josh hoisted me in the air.

"Leave. Me. Alone!" he shouted before hurling me into the wall. My bad arm and shoulder collided with the wall.

At that moment Josh seemed to become his normal self and rushed to my side. I pulled away and looked in the opposite direction when he reached out to me.

"Ky, please. Please, I swear to you I didn't mean it."

"Tell me what's wrong or I walk. And don't lie to me because I know that you know."

Silence. If that was his answer then I was leaving. But when I looked over at him I saw nothing but fear and sadness on his face, and the look of pain when we locked eyes was even worst. At that moment I knew exactly what Josh had been hiding from me.

"It's happening isn't it? You're first full change? That's why you're like this."

A slow nod confirmed what I already knew to be true. The secret Josh had been keeping. The nightmare that had been haunting him forever. Josh was a werewolf, but not like those hideous looking creatures in the movies. He was born into a family of werewolves, not bitten like a monster movie legend. There were a couple reasons it was a secret.

First of all, vampires have this problem where they assume they're the only magical creatures in the world; but it's only so because past generations of monarchs have succeeded in wiping all traces of such things from memory to keep vampires feeling superior. With Tatianna as queen, if the truth were to be discovered we're sure she would twist things in her favor and declare war on the werewolf community. And two, werewolves have one tiny personality flaw…their anger.

That's part of the reason Josh was afraid of his first change. See his mother hadn't raised him like most werewolves because she didn't have that mentality. She was a Dhampir, which is why our mothers were so close. Josh's father had been a werewolf, but had been killed by - surprise, surprise -our wicked queen; that woman has really had it in for our families since day one. Most werewolves are raised with a superiority complex. They're taught to be mean, especially when it comes to anyone who wasn't a werewolf, even more so with vampires. When they're young, they go through mini changes, not completely turning into wolves but getting a little further each time.

During these changes, they become very moody and wild. They're first full change marks their adulthood. Some come earlier than others and some come late. The first full change was a painful one, and the werewolf would become mean and uncontrollable. It recognized nothing but it's own blood or the blood of it's pack. It was very dangerous for them to be around anyone they didn't like or who wasn't a wolf that could defend themselves in case the changeling got out of hand.

The only time Josh had ever been mean as a child was during these mini changes. His mom usually kept him locked in a cage protected by mine and Booka's magic to keep him in. Booka was sit with him every night there was a full moon until the change stopped. He changed at night and was mean during the day. He was gentler with Booka and our mother, and generally focused the anger on me or anyone else around. Once he went through his first complete change he'd be able to control when he changed, and it wouldn't hurt when he did.

"Kyran, I don't know what to do." He sounded so broken, my coldness immediately melted and I moved closer to him, rubbing a gentle hand along his arm, the one that wasn't crushed. It was like as I thought it he knew it…wolf's intuition I called it, "How's your arm?'

"I'm fine."

"You're lying. I know it's hurting like hell. I -

"Joshua!" I yelled to cut him off, "I'll live."

"You can't be around me. Not until after the nights of the moon are over."

"No way."

"Kyran, for once just don't argue with me."

"And for once have faith in me."

"I always have faith in you. I had faith in you when I told you to get up and keep running in the woods and you gave me everything you had. You've never run like that for me in training."

"Yeah but you slowed down for me in the woods."

"No I didn't."

"What?"

"Kyran, I was running top speed, maybe even a little over."

"So I was actually keeping up with you? I thought….do you know what this means? My full powers are starting to develop." I said with a mix of shock, excitement, and unsurety.

"That's great, Ky."

"No it's not. Now we have to work overtime to keep me away from Antonio."

"Yeah well we gotta keep you away from me too. Ky, I know you think you can handle yourself, but even if you were up to your full health it would still be too dangerous for you to be with me."

"Josh, don't you think I of all people know exactly how you feel? How it feels to lose control and give in to your dark side? To know that you hurt someone close to you and live with that forever? I'm just as bad as you are, maybe even worst. We need each other Josh. Who else is gonna keep you in check around civilians?"

"Kyran, please," he begged, "I would rather know that at least you are somewhere safe."

"Nope. We're stuck together. We're gonna ride this thing out 'til the end, you and me. I'm not going anywhere so just forget about it."

"You're so stubborn."

"I'm an Aries. It's just the way we are."

**(Rose POV)**

Christian and I weren't doing too badly. We'd moved around a few times with no problem. I'd have to learn to stop getting so comfortable with these families that we stayed with. This time we were with a Russian family, as if that didn't add to my jumble of thoughts.

I sat in a corner of my room thinking about the same things I always did. Lissa, my father, my mother, Kyran, Dimitri, Adrian, and this whole screwed up situation. Who would've thought finding out so much about myself would have such an awful turnout?

I mean, my mother has been keeping things from me my whole life, not that we exactly had the best relationship. Still, though, you would think she'd have the decency to tell me who my father was a little earlier than she did, or that he had two other kids who knew so much about me yet I knew nothing about them. You would think that she would tell me about her issues with the queen so that I'd know why she hated me so much. You would've thought. But no. Not with my all-business-no-affection mother. She was really something else.

And then I worried about Lissa day and night. Of course I was always checking in on her through the bond, but Christian would irk my nerves for answers every time I did. I complied for the fact that I knew he was just as worried about her as I was. I couldn't punish him for loving her. Thankfully she'd been okay this whole time. With her and Adrian's social status they had top of the line guardians and security, especially since Adrian's aunt had been informed of the situation.

Ahhh, Adrian. He was another story altogether. I missed him so much it was crazy. But I couldn't think of him without thinking of Dimitri, and being in a house full of Russians didn't make it any better. Of course I cared deeply for Adrian, I even loved him; but was I in love with him? I already knew the answer to that. Even when we had our sweet moments as he dream-walker into my mind I knew m heart would always belong to another. Dimitri Belikov. My first love. The man who took my virginity. The man who fought by my side and died protecting us. The man who kidnapped me after being turned into a Strigoi and the only part of his humanity that he retained was his love for me. And, after all he had taught me about Strigoi and how they could manipulate people, I couldn't bring myself to kill him when I had the chance, nor could I bring myself to stop loving him, just as he couldn't seem to relinquish his love for me.

What would I do when I saw him again? Would I be able to fight him? Would I freeze up? Or maybe I would give into my desire for him and we would run off, him turning me into a Strigoi so that we could be together forever. So many emotions coursing through my body; some good and some bad. I had no idea what I was gonna do.

I do know that if we all survived this I would be calling an emergency family meeting; that includes all blood relatives and the extended family that I had found in Lissa, Adrian, and Christian. I wanted answers to everything. I refused to live in the dark anymore. But I had a feeling the worst discoveries were yet to come.

**(K POV)**

Tonight was the night of the full moon. For days Josh had been trying to control his moods and behavior. He refused to leave the room, and I had to bring him endless supplies of meat to keep him pacified. We were also lying to the others and telling them that everything was okay. If my father and Booka got wind of what was happening, they would jeopardize everything and come running to the rescue. Josh and I would just have to deal on our own. We just had to make it through this first change. If we survived tonight then everything would be okay.

The sun would set in a half hour so Josh and I had agreed to get sa far away from the inn as possible with that time. We ran through the town. Although it wasn't exactly a largely populated area, it was still hard to find somewhere inconspicuous to deal with this. We opted for a deserted plane. There were no trees or anything to conceal us but there was nothing and no one for miles around. Hopefully it would stay this way for the night.

We sat, watching the sun sink beneath the horizon.

"Kyran, you have to promise me something." Josh said softly.

"Josh, I already told you I'm not abandoning you no matter how bad things get."

"Trust me I gave up on that argument a long time ago. I want you to swear to me that you're not gonna use your magic. I don't care if I go on a rampage and destroy the city, do not use your magic to control me."

"But my healing powers are back now, and my powers are finally developing. I really think I'll be able to handle something small this -

"Kyran, I'm serious. You have to swear to me that you won't use your magic. I can't risk losing you again. I've been letting you get away with it, but I'm not playing this time. Swear to me right now or I run."

He left me no choice. As much as I wanted to help him, I couldn't risk him being out there alone. Besides, I was afraid of what I might do if left alone. I needed him here to keep me grounded just as much as he needed me.

"Okay. I swear."

I'd have to rely on speed, strength, and intelligence to handle Josh. Just twelve hours and we'd be okay. Time was slowly ticking away. Just five minutes and there would be no sun to light the sky. The moon would take over Josh's body and he'd become a monster. I could already see him struggling to fight it.

"Josh, just give in. There's nothing you can do about it, so embrace it instead of wasting all your energy to fight it." I grabbed his already hairy hand and gave it a little squeeze before letting go.

The change was coming. The sun had set and now all we had to do was wait. For at least two hours nothing happened.

"Maybe it was a false alarm." Josh said hopefully, but I knew better than to feed into it. Not even two seconds later he doubled over and fell to his knees. He groaned in pain as his body shifted. The transformation seemed so long yet so quick. Hair grew all over his body and his bones and joints twisted into a new form. His teeth grew to sharpened points and his eyes glowed an eerie yellow. His body grew as well. He looked up at me and I couldn't pick out which emotions were in there because there were so many. I know which one I felt. Fear.

I had to brace myself. I knew Josh like no other. Hopefully there was some sort of humanity not corrupted by this transformation, but I was prepared to fight him if it came down to it.

All too soon that bone chilling howl ripped through the night and Josh came straight at me. I dodged all attempts at my chest and throat. i tried to run, but he would leap over my head and cut me off. After a while of evasion, he managed to catch me. It was like after the first hit his aim just got better and better. My arm was still sore, but I knew it would go right back to being broken after tonight.

Scratches, bruises, and scrapes covered my body. The one thing I'd managed to avoid was his teeth, and thank God for that. If those things sunk into my flesh it would hurt like hell, and I might lose a limb. I was scared for my life, but using magic to control him was out of the question. A) I had sworn that I wouldn't and B) if my body really couldn't handle it then I'd be a sitting duck for Joshua to devour.

We went on like this for a while, but it seemed Josh was fed up with the games. The wolf wanted to hunt. He raised a giant paw and knocked me out of his way, sending me clear across the clearing. I managed to pick myself up in time to see Josh heading for town. He smelled live meat. I didn't waste any time running after him. Somebody was gonna die tonight if I couldn't get to Josh in time.

As large and fast as he was, Josh could take big strides, meaning I really had to put in work to keep up with him, but I was still trailing behind. Just as we reached town I figured throwing things at him might slow him down, but what could I find to throw. The screams told me I would have to improvise.

Josh was making a mess of the city. He pushed over cars, and was smashing the shop windows. I was panicking. What the heck was gonna be left to throw at him if he was destroying everything. The town's folk were either running or frozen in terror. A couple already laid on the ground, injured and trying to escape before something worst happened. Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed. Maybe Josh had been right and I should've called in for back up.

All thoughts of doubt had to be erased from my head when Josh had a poor man pinned to the floor. He was mauling the guy with his claws. Since the town was already a wreck I figured they wouldn't mind a little more damage if it meant they got to live. I picked up a truck and hurled it at Josh, being careful of my strength so as not to rip off Josh's head. It sure hit him hard enough to make him whimper and climb off the man. I hurried over while Josh was distracted with the pain and rushed the man to the safety of his wife, sending both of them running.

The problem with people is, when they see something out of the ordinary they always wanna watch. While some were smart enough to just steer clear of the area all together, others hid behind anything they could to watch what would happen between a courageous, seemingly human, girl and a giant killer wolf.

Leading Josh away from these people wouldn't work; they were too tempting. I would have to piss him off first before he would follow me. Attacking while he was still recovering was best, but just as I charged him he sensed my attack and smacked me. I rolled over and hopped right up, ready to fight.

_**Remember your training Kyran**_ I said in my mind. _**Don't attack first. Let him come to you.**_

So I stood and waited, staring Josh in the eye. How was I gonna hold him off for eight hours? He wasn't moving, so I decided to bombard him with things. I ran through one of the busted shop windows and hurled whatever was heavy and handy at him. Eventually, it angered him enough to the point where he was rushing towards me. Just as he was about to make impact I spun and kicked him away from me and the idiots hiding around the corner.

I climbed out of the shop and prepared for Josh's next attack, making sure not to have him running towards the innocent people. I punched him hard enough to knock him away, but not hard enough to do serious damage. After a few more failed attempts, Josh tried to get clever. Too bad, I could tell by the look in his eyes, his watering tongue, and the direction of his gave that he was planning on going straight for the people instead. He tried it, attempting to fly over me, but I moved quickly and jumped up in time to grab him by his fur and send him flying back. The wicked grin on my face had him baring his teeth and growling at me in frustration.

Knowing that I had succeeded in pissing him off I figure now was the best time to lure him away from these people. I kicked at him, tortured and teased him to ensure that he was following me. I even had to force him into the clearing, having him walk backwards when he couldn't trust me behind him since I'd pulled on his tail a few times. I knew dogs hated that. Finally, we were back to ground zero. The clearing was like home court for both of us. Hopefully those stupid people had enough sense not to follow. Any who did would risk death if I couldn't keep Josh controlled.

Five hours left. What to do. He was already irritated. He hadn't gotten to feed, and that's what he was desperate for. Anything would do at this point. If only I could lead him towards some animals. And then I remembered that there were a billion ranches around here. The closest animals that I sensed were about six or seven miles in the direction away from town.

"You wanna eat? Fine. Keep up." Knowing good and well Josh understood me and that I was offering food, I ran with him chasing me. I had to be careful and quick, making sure to watch my back. I knew the real Josh was in there somewhere, struggling to control the urge to eat me, which is probably the only reason he was following me and not trying to bite at my heels, although I did have to dodge a few claws coming my way.

Finally, we made it to the ranch. Once Josh smelled defenseless prey he disregarded me and crashed into the barns. I could hear the animals panicking, all trying to escape Josh's clutches. I just leaned against a wall near the entrance and watched. It was gruesome, but I didn't take my eyes off him. This went on for a while uninterrupted, but I had overlooked the fact that owners would come running if they heard a disturbance with their farm; and since Josh wasn't exactly worried about keeping it down, that's exactly what happened.

"What's going on - oh my word?" the poor farmer was standing wide eyed as he watched this giant wolf devour his earning. Only a short moment later, his wife was right behind him with a young man, a little girl, and a baby. The woman handed the baby to who I assumed to be her son and went to catch the farmer as he began to collapse. He seemed like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Who are you? What the hell did you bring to my house girl?" he shouted at me, " .Bobby, take your sisters inside and get the shot gun."

The son, Bobby, grabbed hold of his little sister's hand and began rushing the kids to safety, but he was too loud about it. Between his feet crunching on the ground, the baby crying, and the little girl screaming, Josh's attention roamed back to human flesh. Why couldn't humans just lay in bed and stop running off to check out potentially dangerous situations unprotected? The ferocious, hungry look in Josh's eyes pulled me out of my thoughts and pushed me to action.

"Run! All of you run now!" I screamed before throwing my body in front of them.

Josh tossed me aside as if I were nothing and started for the family. Now that he had blood on his tongue his greed was kicking in. The barn was a wreck and whatever animals were still alive in there were going crazy. I picked myself up and kicked Josh away from the couple. It took about three more shouts to finally get those idiots moving.

Unfortunately, stupid Bobby had come back out with the shotgun. His parents ran behind him while he aimed the gun at Josh.

"That's not gonna work so just go! I'll handle him!"

But they were stubborn. Bobby aimed and fired off a couple shots at Josh. The bullets fazed him for about two seconds before he got just about the angriest I'd seen him all night. I was scared for my life and for the lives of these people, but if I let him get to them he'd blame himself for the rest of his life and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for letting it happen.

"For the last time, get back inside your home or he's gonna rip all of your throats out and kill those poor little kids in there. GO!" finally the fools listened and I ran to catch Josh's attention, "I let you feed. I let you fill your cravings with these people's career. This is all they have to depend on and you took it from them; and now you're trying to take their lives too? I thought you were better than this Josh. This isn't you."

"The Josh I know is sweet and compassionate. He's caring, and stong, and would never let something take over his will power. My Josh doesn't like to be controlled. Or did you want this? Maybe you gave in because you wanted to. You're weak and pathetic. You want human flesh? You want a human life? Then take me."

Although he'd heard everything I just said, I had absolutely no clue what he was thinking in response. I was hoping the real Josh was in there trying to give in to reason and not his animalistic nature, but when I saw those paws dragging across the dirt I gave up hope. The beast had taken over and wanted my throat between those teeth. No more would he chase anyone else; his goal tonight was to have me dead. If it was a fight he wanted, then it was a fight he would get.

"Bring it on, wolf boy." I taunted before sprinting away. I was running for dear life if nothing else, and Josh was keeping up just fine. My concern was getting him away from that family before turning on him. Fifty minutes to go before the sun came up.

I turned back in time to see Josh spring on me. I barely made it out of the way. His tail caught me and whacked me into a tree. Pain. I had to work through pain that was threatening to kill me. I don't know how much more of this I could take, but I was gonna push my body to the ultimate limit. Back on my feet, I caught Josh in the jaw as he came at me.

All this time I'd been trying not to hurt him, but now I had to try not to hold back. Fighting him was hard. My heard was conflicting with my head. My violent nature was conflicting with my loving one. Hurt him. Don't hurt him. All these thoughts and emotions attacked me just as strongly as Josh did. I peeked over at the horizon and was distracting by the sunrise. Essential rule: don't get distracted. Josh got his teeth into my arm and I hollered in pain. He never let go as I buckled to my knees. He wasn't pulling at it but he wouldn't remove his teeth.

Finally, I lay under him. He let go of my arm to stare into my eyes. I was done for physically, emotionally, mentally. I couldn't fight him anymore. Just as I was about to let my eyes close and drift away into a black hole that would probably take me to the spirit world, Josh began to change back. I looked up in wonder as the hair fell from his skin and he shrank back to normal size. The sun was up in the sky and the real Josh was hovering over me half naked except for a pair of torn sweats. He was breathing heavy, but fell to his knees at the sight of me.

"Kyran! Kyran no!"

"Josh, it's okay. I did what I had to do. I kept these people safe, and made sure you didn't have to live with anything on your conscience. You can let me go now." I whispered with my last breath before closing my eyes forever.


	10. Chapter 10

My dear sweet fans. I adore you and as always I thank you for the support that keeps me motivated. Melissa72 you remind me so much of my sister, but don't worry too much about Kyran. And I feel your pain on the Moroi thing. There had to be a change.

Read and Enjoy!  
_

**(special treat Josh POV)**

"Kyran! _Kyranyetta_! Noooooo!" emptiness and a broken heart were all that filled my body. It seemed as though time itself had come to a halt. Nature was paying tribute to this goddess laying before me as the birds chirped and flew around us, and the sun beamed directly on her, making her body glow.

What had I done? How could I have killed the only love I'd ever known? My heart. My world. My very existence. All of it would die if Kyran was really gone.

Struggling to my feet, I picked up the fallen beauty and carried her back to our motel. In the room, I gently laid her down on the bed and went to grab some bandages and hot water. I took my time wiping at every bruise and wound. I cleared the blood from her body and bandaged her up as best I could. Playing medic had always been her job.

When I was done, I kneeled beside the bed and stroked her face with tenderness.

"How could you do this to me? How could you leave me like this? Do you know how lost I'll be without you? My life is meaningless if you're not a part of it. I love you with everything I have and I'll be damned if I'm responsible for you being taken away from me."

"I don't understand why you had to be so hardheaded. If only you would've listened to me things wouldn't have turned out like this. I should've fought harder to keep you away, or called Booka, or did something intelligent. You were right. I am weak. I let the wolf take over and now look at you. The world is a cold, cruel place if this happens to you. The gods must truly be pure evil for taking such a being from this planet."

I raised my tear stained eyes upwards and began shouting to the heavens, "I want her back, do you hear me? This isn't fair! She did nothing wrong!"

I don't know why I expected a response, but after not getting one I lowered my head and stared at Kyran's lifeless body. My tears began to drip onto her face, "Bring her back. Just please bring her back to me," I sobbed.

Ever so slowly, I leaned over and planted a final soft kiss on her lips. The electricity I felt coursing through me was amazing. It was like I couldn't break the touch. But finally, I pulled away and lay my head on her stomach, crying tears that seemed as though they would never stop flowing.

It felt like I was crying for an eternity. i paced around the room for hours, stared in the mirrors for hours, sat and thought about everything that had happened and everything that would happen because of this. Booka and his father would never forgive me. That girl was their world. Her father's pride and joy and the light of her brother's world.

Eventually, I returned to my position on her stomach, crying whatever tears were left in my body. A whole day had passed but all I could do it lay my head on her stomach and think of all the times I had with this girl. The way we would argue as children. How we always acted like we couldn't stand each other, but did nice things that we thought no one would notice. Our time at the academy. The love I had for her. Her smile. Her eyes. Her infectious laugh. How she could liven up any room with a few choice words.

I had one job: protect her; and I couldn't even manage to do that right. Instead, I killed her. Now all I could bring myself to do was lay here trying to imagine the warmth her body once held. I thought so hard on it that it was starting to feel real, but I knew that wasn't possible. I didn't look up, I didn't move. I laid on her stomach and cried my heart out.

My imagination and pain was really starting to mess with me. I was thinking about that heartbeat of hers. Then, I thought I felt her gentle touch, a hand running through my hair trying to comfort me. I started to cry even harder when I thought I heard that angelic voice softly calling out my name. Could the god really be so cruel as to cause such hallucinations?

"Why are you doing this to me?" I cried as I buried my face deeper into her body.

"Josh? What's going on?"

Wait a minute. Was she moving. I could feel her stomach slightly rising and falling as if she were breathing. It couldn't be true. She'd been dead for an entire day. But my protective instincts reacted to the vulnerability in her voice and I decided to take a risk and look up. I almost fell over when I saw her eyes. They were barely open, but still, I could see the life in them.

"You're okay!" I exclaimed before rushing to hug her.

"Josh, what are you - ow. Ow. Ow."

"Oh. Sorry." I pulled back remembering that her entire body would be in pain, "I'm sorry. I just can't believe you're back."

"Back? Where did I go?"

Her confusion would've been cute at any other moment, but right now I had to tell her the truth about what had happened.

"Kyran, you…you died. I killed you." I admitted while hanging my head in shame.

"Joshua look at me." she said in a somewhat scolding voice, "What happened last night wasn't your fault. You couldn't help it. What's important is that everything's okay now. I'm here now and I'm fine."

"I know. I just feel so guilty."

She rolled her eyes as a tiny smile crept onto her face. She slowy sat up and, with much difficulty, reached out and pulled one of my hands towards her chest, resting it over her heart.

"See. It's still beating. No harm no foul. I'm okay and I'll be just fine tomorrow, and the day after that, and the one after that. I'm not going anywhere. You won't get rid of me so easily."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." I gently took her hand in mine and looked directly in her eyes trying my best to convey all my emotions. I know if there's one person who could get that just from a look it would be Kyran, "You don't know how much it hurt when I thought I lost you. I was a wreck. If you were really ever to leave me it would be unbearable. I kept thinking about what Booka and Abe would say. I thought about everything we never got to do. How I'd never feel your touch or your soft lips. How I'd never see that twinkle in your eyes. How I wouldn't have anyone to argue with."

"Josh, believe me I know just how you feel. I'd be incomplete if you weren't around all the time. I love you."

My heart almost jumped straight out my chest when I heard those words escape her lips. She loved me? Me? I was in shock. I never thought I would live up to the princess's standards, but somehow I'd managed to snag her attention.

"I love you too."

And we sealed our love with a soft kiss.

**(K POV)**

Josh spent an entire day apologizing and pampering me until I finally screamed at him to stop. He couldn't be held responsible for my short death. If anything, I was to blame for not listening to him in the first place and just staying away. I just had to be a hero. I was starting to feel much better, and was even able to move around the room, not that Josh really let me out of the bed except to use the bathroom and shower. He had gone to the bathroom so I snuck out to the lobby of the inn to stretch my legs a bit, making sure a hoody covered my bruises and face.

Everyone was on edge and reading the local newspaper. Curious as I was, I decided to grab one to. My heart fell to my stomach when I saw the front page. A picture of Josh and I fighting was plastered on the front under the title "Girl meets Wolf". There was an entire story about what had taken place last night with quotes from some of the bystanders. I read in horror as I hurried back to the room.

Josh was steady waiting on the bed, ready to come at me for leaving; but I shut him down before he could even start.

"Don't. Read." I said throwing the newspaper at him and going to turn the TV on. Sure enough every news station was either shooting scenes of the destroyed town or interviewing the farmer whose livestock we had slaughtered.

"This is bad."

"We have to go. Now. Grab everything we have and let's check out now. It won't be long before Dad and Booka are blowing up our phones. And we still have Tony to worry about."

"Tony?" Josh asked.

"Um, I meant Antonio." I corrected, mentally cursing myself for that slip. I had to be more careful about letting my real relationship with Antonio slip or I was screwed.

"Since when are you two on a nickname basis?"

"Josh, focus on packing and stop worrying about silly things like that."

"Kyran, what are you hiding from the rest of us?"

"Nothing, okay? Absolutely nothing. It was an accident. That's all. Now can we focus?" I killed the conversation as we gathered our few supplies and jetted out of the hotel. Josh checked out since I couldn't show my face and we hurried from that place, avoiding town.

Where we were headed, we had no clue. The main goal right now was to get away from this town. With newspapers and news channels focusing on what had happened, there was no telling who it had reached by now. Two days was more than enough time for this to go national.

Josh's phone went off and I knew we were busted.

"Hello?" he answered with the phone on speaker so I could hear.

"Why the hell didn't you two call someone?" my father screamed. I looked at Josh and signaled for him to let me handle this one.

"Daddy we didn't know. We were so focused on staying alive that we missed the signs. All we could do was try to keep him under control when it happened. And I couldn't use my magic so there was no way to contain him."

"We have to regroup. Now. You two need to keep hidden and hurry because Antonio probably already knows where you are and is sending someone. Get on the next bus to Detroit."

"No!" I responded a little too loudly.

"What's the matter, Kyran?" my father asked.

I shifted my eyes nervously. I couldn't tell him the real reason I didn't want to go there. If he found out I knew Antonio had a house out there he'd go ballistic with questions. I had no choice but to go along with it.

"Nothing. We'll be there."

Josh gave me a weird look after he hung up, but didn't speak on it. I figured he'd wait 'til we got to safety before he attacked me with his thoughts.

**(Narration)**

The events of the night of the full moon had indeed gone national. Spread across the country, Rose, Lissa, Christian, Abe, Booka, and Adrian had all either seen the news reports and the papers, or were viewing them now. Shock, horror, fear, all these things and more were coursing through their bodies.

Rose was more pissed than before at the amount of things kept secret from her, while Lissa, Adrian, and Christian were suffering from the shock of Josh's true nature. It was almost no surprise when they received the call telling them the regroup time and location.

With everyone getting ready to meet back up, they were hopeful that maybe they'd finally get some answers, for this was one thing they refused to be denies knowledge to; especially if Josh was really as dangerous as the news made him seem.

Lissa couldn't figure out how people she had thought to be so sweet could turn out to be the total opposite, and was starting to question her ability to judge people. She and Adrian were flying, accompanied by more guardians than they could count on both their hands and feet put together. The queen wasn't taking any chances with either of them.

Kyran and Josh were on a train headed for Michigan, but Josh had chosen to sit as far away from Kyran as the cart would allow. He opted for an empty seat by a stranger rather than beside her. As bad as she was feeling about Josh avoiding her and no longer trusting her, Kyran was even more nervous about this trip.

After the exposure, it would be a miracle in itself if they made it to Detroit without being either attacked or captured. She was positive Antonio had seen, and knew her exact location. He probably even knew where she was heading. He had always liked to toy with her. At one time she'd even found it….no. She had to get those thoughts out of her head now and pray that Josh would leave her little slip of the tongue alone. With them being so close to that fiend she had to be careful of what everyone found out. She would also have to be careful of communication with him. He knew exactly how to lure her to him and if she went that would be the end of her relationship with her friends, her family, and Josh. Forever.

Booka and Abe knew something was wrong. Besides Josh's transformation exposing them, they could tell that Kyran was hiding something big from them. It had to do with Antonio, of that they were positive. And now that Kyran and Josh were headlining news across the country the only thing left to do was begin preparing for the fight of their lives. But first, they needed to deal with all their family drama.

Rose needed answers and Kyran needed to start telling the truth.

**(K POV)**

Off the train and on our way toHilton to meet the others. Josh hadn't spoken to me since we got on the train in Arkansas. The only contact we'd had was when he'd shook me awake so we could get off the train. Now we rode silently in a taxi towards the hotel. For once we weren't the last ones there. We found my brother, my father, Lissa, and Adrian in the lobby. Rose and Christian were nowhere in sight. Of course Lissa was worried out of her mind, but the guys were cool as cucumbers.

I wasn't in the mood to take crap from anyone. I gave everyone a quick glance before walking off to the side and taking a seat by myself. Might as well enjoy what little peace of mind I could get while I could still get it.

Josh, my father, and Booka were all whispering about me like I couldn't hear them. They didn't care. To be honest, neither did i. let them say and think what they wanted, it wouldn't change anything. I just tuned them out and thought about something happier; about my mother. Of course I blocked out her current situation and just focused on the better times.

My childhood had been one of the best. There had never been a doubt in my mind that I was unloved. My parents spoiled me with gifts as well as attention. Even my brother treated me better than the average elder brother did; that was, when he wasn't busy with Josh. My mother had friends and a happy career.

But no matter how beautiful my past had been, everything in it had been twisted and distorted by something of the present. My mother had been captured, the attention from my father and brother had been stolen, I now had to share my father with another girl. Do you know how hard it is to be spoiled all your life and then suddenly have to feel the shock of the fact that your not daddy's only princess? I'm no longer my daddy's only lttle girl.

But to make matters even worst, I couldn't even think about close friends, because then I remember that before Katya, I'd had another best friend. Back when I lived in the Dominican Republic she and I were like two peas in a pod. Inseparable some would say. She lived with her mother, a dhampir like my mother. But Adela was special just as I was, because her father was a Strigoi. Her parents had married young and had a son, but eighteen years later both he and Adela's father were turned into Strigoi.

Although evil and murderous, the two still held some compassion for Adela's mother. One night of passion led to Adela's unique birth. Of course she was born mostly like a Dhampir. Beautiful, olive colored, perfect jet black hair that flowed around her, eyes that looked like they'd come straight out of a magazine. Adela was gorgeous. Only think is, she had Strigoi abilities, and Strigoi cravings.

She had her father's speed, hearing, sight, sense of smell, strength, all of it. She didn't have magic like me or any Moroi, but what she did have was the bloodlust of a Strigoi. She was also sensitive to the light, which was okay because we ran on a Moroi schedule during the school years, and generally only went outside once the sun started to fade from the sky.

It was through Adela that we first met Antonio. It was Adela who would always help him find us. Yet no matter her actions, I always forgave her. That was my soul sister and blood or lack there of would never change that.

"Kyran!" Booka called, snapping me out of the memory, "Let's go."

Rose and Christian had finally arrived, and no one looked happy. Angry eyes were trained on me as I stood and followed behind everyone. We hopped onto the elevator and traveled to a suite on the thirteenth floor. I stayed isolated all the way into the room. Of course my father had us sleeping in style. Two floors, seven rooms, kitchen, three bathrooms, TV's, we were more than comfortable. Of course the room was under one of his Aliases.

My father told everyone to unload in a room and rest for a while, he would be calling a meeting later. Everyone went off to their own rooms, except Rose and Lissa who decided to share a room. I tried to choose the room farthest from the people I'd known my entire life, but the arrangements didn't work that way. Rose and the others took the three rooms downstairs while I got stuck upstairs right in the center of my father, Josh, and Booka. My luck just seemed to keep running out.

I locked myself in the room and fell back onto my bed. I don't know how things got so bad so fast but they did. Sitting here and waiting for someone to come at me wasn't gonna happen. I rolled over on the queen sized bed, closed my eyes, and drifted off into the first peaceful, non-pain induced sleep since this whole thing began.

I was out maybe three hours before my nightmares thrust me back into the waking world. I clutched at my chest with one hand and tried to wipe away sweat with the other, but my entire body was glossy with perspiration. I jumped and let out a squeak when someone knocked on my door.

"Kyran, let's go. Meeting time." Booka called through the door.

"I'm coming." I answered softly, still trying to get a grip. I hurried out of my bed and walked to the door. My brother was waiting for me on the outside, "Booka -

Before I could even start the sentence he turned and walked away from me. I hung my head in defeat and followed him downstairs to the den. Everyone was seated and waiting. Booka took a spot between my father and Josh. I didn't exactly get a welcoming feeling from any of them so I opted to slump down against a wall, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Clearly, we've been found out." My father began, "Antonio is too smart not to have already learned every detail possible about this incident. It's only a matter of time before one of us runs into the other. So now, we need to start preparing for a fight."

"Well the only way to be fully prepared is to know everything about a situation. So I think it's about time all of us were on the same page, _dad_." Rose responded sourly.

"No need to get testy, Rosemary. I knew that was coming. What exactly do you wish to know?"

"Ummm, I don't know, everything! How about we start with this family issue we have."

"You know I'm your father. After Jose was born your mother and I had a thing. That love we shared resulted in you, but you know how your mother is. We knew we'd never work out, especially since I was never truly over my first love. I had Kyran after you. The reason you know so little is because Janine wanted it this way."

"See she figured it better if you didn't know about your other family. We were in enough trouble with the queen as it was. She wanted you as far away from this drama as possible so you could focus on your studies and your training."

"What drama with the queen?" Rose asked, confused.

"Tatianna has always been a jealous one." Booka answered, "She was in love with our father - " I winced as I listened to him say "our". However small the gesture, it was still a connection to her, " - but he never returned her affections. This man can get her to do lmost anything with the right persuasion. That's why she doesn't like any of us, nor our mothers. Dad knows how to cause quite a stir."

"Okay. Well I guess that incident at court makes sense now. Tatianna was on Kyran and Josh's case from the moment they got there. I guess she already knows about Josh's situation." Lissa deduced.

"Yeah that witch knows all about me. it's her fault there's no knowledge of my people's existence. She wiped it from memory over the years. She threatens to expose me and start a war against all werewolves if I should cross her. My mother would either be shunned or hunted down by vampires and seen as a traitor. I refuse to let that happen."

"No need to worry about exposure and threats from Tatianna, Josh. Jose and I have already paid her a visit." My father said with a slight smile.

"So what's her deal?" Christian said while jerking his head towards me. I turned away when everyone focused their eyes on me.

"Kyran and Booka are a special case." My father said, "You see, I am a descendant of the Turkish god of thieves and a Moroi woman. After so many generations much of the magic of the god has faded so it had no affect on Rosemary's birth, but Delilah Booka was a descendant of Lillith the goddess of Beauty and Purity. Once our bloodlines mixed, the magic presented itself in our children."

"Kyran and Booka have their great grandmother's eyes and the immortality and power of the gods. It's why they are both Dhampir and Moroi. Apparently, the gods saw something in Kyran as an infant and allowed her to keep all her powers. This is why she specialized in all the elements, including spirit."

"Since spirit is so rare and unstudied, I sent her to 's so that she could learn from Rose and Lissa. I also wanted her to finally meet you, Rose. I had always felt that the secrets were unfair to you."

"So she's a freak of nature is what you're saying." Rose responded, setting me off.

"Hey!" I shouted as I sat up, "What gives you the right to -

"Kyran, from what Josh has told me you are in no position to be shouting at anyone right now." My father said.

"But daddy -

"No buts. Now explain this issue with Antonio."

"You were there. You know what happened." I said.

"Cut the crap, Kyran. Ever since school I've felt there was something you haven't been telling us about Antonio." Booka said.

"Why don't you guys start from the beginning because we're all still lost on this Antonio guy?" Rose said.

"We'll let Kyran take this one over. It seems she has a lot to say." My father said.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I tried to hesitate for a moment, but making everyone wait wasn't my best course of action right now. I'd leave out what I had to. Some secrets were best left untold.

"Antonio has been after us since we were children. Not just me, but Josh and Booka as well. He knew all about our abnormalities and our powers. It was originally his father that began this evil plot to take over the world. See he figured since we were so powerful and had less limitations than he did we could help him overthrow the monarchs and take over the entire world, human and vampires alike."

"He would expose vampires and werewolves to the world, and use us to control everyone. Of course, everyone has a dark side. Antonio and his father Antan had a direct connection to us because of Antan's daughter, Adela. She's halfDhampir and half Strigoi. She was also my best friend in the entire world. Her father saw that and tried to use her to get to us."

"As a child, she was told by her mother to avoid him at all costs. Sure he and Antonio would show up every once in a while when her mother watched us, and they would interact; but Adela's mom Moira would make him leave. One day when all us kids were alone outside, he came with Antonio and attacked and they weren't alone. There were three other Strigoi with them. They grabbed Adela and told us they'd kill her if we didn't do what they wanted us to do."

"I screamed and all our parents ran outside. While Antonio held Adela the adults fought. But two Dhampirs who hadn't trained in years and one Moroi and his guardian couldn't fight unprepared again two Strigoi while trying to protect four children, one of whom was already captured."

"My father and his guardian managed to kill two of the Strigoi, but were left horribly injured, as was my mother. Moira died, killed by one of Antan's henchmen. Booka, Josh, and I were the only ones left. It was either surrender or watch our families die. Hotheaded as we were at that tender age, we fought back. Josh and Jose killed the Strigoi and I attacked Antan and Antonio. My rage allowed me to kill Antan, but it weakened me substantially."

"Antonio took Adela and fled. We didn't see them for another six years. We were still in D.R. and had done our best to forget the incident. I even had a new best friend, Katya. But Antonio hadn't given up. He and Adela showed up again, only this time she was on his side. He has warped her mind and turned her against us, reminding her of how I had killed her father. He'd also trained her and showed her how to fight. With no adults around, Josh, Booka, and I were left to fight for ourselves again."

"My magic was still untrained and I was young. We all were. The promises of power appealed to our dark natures. We were more susceptible than most since Josh's werewolf nature was brutal and we were descendants of the god of thieves and deception. We almost went with him. Almost. I was more swayed than the others, so they had to talk me down. The fight was horrible. After destroying the army he brought with him, Antonio decided to be cruel and make Adela attack me. Although time had driven us apart, I still had love for her. So when I drove I knife through her heart it almost killed mine. I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave her there."

The memory was fresh in my mind. I thought about it like it was yesterday…

_**I knelt beside Adela's bleeding body on the ground. Antonio, Josh, and Booka all stood and watched in horror. I was crying as I explained to her that I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to kill her or her father.**_

"_**Adela, you're my best friend. You're like my sister. I love you. I never meant to hurt you. Please, please don't be mad at me."**_

"_**Kyranyetta, I forgive you. **_**Yo te amo tambien, y yo se**_**. I kno you never meant any of this. It was you fault**_**. No te culpas.**_** Don't cry. **_**No te culpas."**

_**I didn't wanna believe it when her eyes closed. I didn't want it to be real. So I made it unreal. As weak as I was from the fight I still used my healing powers and brought her back to life. I didn't know this then, but she was shadow kissed. Connected to me forever after I brought her back from the land of the dead.**_

_**But the magic had the same affect on me then as it did now. I fell beside Adela, both of us weak and frail. Antonio carried his sister off and Booka and Josh took me home, explaining to our parents what had happened.**_

"She used that stupid bond to find me a few times. She refused to help her brother track us down because she's forgiven me, so he took to following her when she would come to see me. Staying on the island became too dangerous and we moved up here. Adela and I don't meet up anymore. After the first few times my father had me train to block my mind from that link and I had to swear never to heal anyone's death again. And I never did." That statement was full of lies. Necessary lies, but lies none the less.

"So what aren't you telling us about you and Antonio? Did you see him again without us knowing?"

"No!" lie.

"Then since when are you two so close that you call him Tony?" Josh shouted.

"That was a mistake. A bad childhood habit. When he and Antan used to visit Adela that's what she would call him, and sometimes I would too. You guys must remember her calling him Tony whenever they were together? That's all it was!" that wasn't a complete lie. Adela had originally been the first to call him Tony.

"Are you sure that's the only reason? You're not hiding anything from me?" Booka asked as his eyes bore into mine. The bond between us was something I didn't want to risk by telling the truth, so I dug deep inside myself and denied it.

"I'm sure Booka. I would never keep anything from you."

"Then I guess we owe you an apology." Josh said.

"For what? Selling me out yet again Joshua? I knew I was right about you all along. You can't be trusted. I just can't believe I let you fool me into thinking we could actually get along." I said before getting up and storming back up to my room, locking the door behind me. After all those lies and all the horrible memories I'd dragged out, my brain needed a rest.


	11. Chapter 11

****

**(Josh POV)**

Kyran leaving meant meeting adjourned. Everyone needed time to absorb what they'd just heard and take a breather. Rose and the others wanted some time together, and I needed some time to get my head right in my room. I left Abe and Booka to talk strategy while I went up to my room. At the top of the stairs I paused and looked at her door. I considered knocking, but knew she wasn't even in the mood to open the door for her own father right now, much less me. I let the thought go and went to my own room.

I was laying on my bed drowning in thoughts of Kyran. She felt I betrayed her. We were in a life or death situation and all I could think about was if Kyran would ever speak to me again. Her face was swimming through my head. Her smile, those eyes, I could get lost in her eyes for hours on top of hours. Her touch sends shocks of electricity coursing through my body. She makes my blood boil, but in a good way.

That first kiss back in Montana was incredible. Holding her had felt so right. And the kiss in Texas, it was still sending shivers up my spine. I grabbed my pillow and held it over my face, trying to free myself from these frustrating thoughts.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in." I answered in a muffled voice while removing the pillow from my face and tilting my head up to see who had just opened my door. Jose leaned in my doorway with a goofy grin on his face like he knew something I didn't.

"So you finally told my sister you loved her." He said, making my shoot up and my eyes bulge out of my head.

"Who told you that? Her?"

"She's not even opening her door for me. I've known this forever Josh. Since we were kids."

"How?" I asked, still so much in shock that I was at risk for a heart attack.

"What kind of a best friend would I be if I didn't know these important things about you? I've seen the way you used to look at her. She's the only girl you've ever looked at like that. I just never said anything."

"Why not? You coulda at least hinted that you knew so I wouldn't have to work so hard trying to hide it from you."

"I wanted to see you squirm." He joked, "And if I told you I knew then I would've had to tell her I knew she's been in love with you from the jump start as well."

"Wait, what did you say?" I know she just told me she loved me, but I thought it was in the heat of the moment.

"Joshua. Joshua. Joshua." Jose said while shaking his head at me, "For someone who notices so much about her you can be real oblivious. That girl has had a thing for you since I don't know when. Don't tell her I told you this because she thinks no one knows, but she used to sit with you during your changes. She'd wait until you and I fell asleep and then come down there and sit with you until the sun came up."

"Wow. I honestly never would've guessed. Especially when she started giving all her attention to that rat Damien. We saw him at Court. He was with those snooty, rich Moroi at one of those parties. He's still got his eye on her, and she didn't exactly look turned off."

"Yeah, trust me I know. You never really get over a forced break up. The only reason I let them stay together was because I knew the kid loved her. She made him better and he wouldn't do anything that he thought would hurt her or upset her. But now more than ever I plan on nipping that relationship in the bud."

"Do you think she'll forgive me?"

"Come on. How many times have she and I fought. If she loves you like I know she does then she'll forgive you."

"I hope so."

"You worry too much. Come on. I just convinced dad to take us all out to eat and stretch our legs."

(K POV)

For a good while everyone was smart enough not to even attempt communication with me. I laid peacefully on my bed forcing myself to think of butterflies, and rainbows, and anything else that would keep me in a positive mind frame. But it didn't last. My brother tried to get in. My father tried. Even Lissa tried to get a response out of me. All any of them got was silence.

I'd thought they'd given up, but clearly that wasn't the case. There was a persistent rap on my door.

"What?"

"We're going out to eat and I know for a fact you don't have any food in your system so let's go. No ifs, ands, or buts." Booka yelled.

"I'm not hungry."

"Now, Kyran!"

"Fine. Whatever."

I swung my door open and rolled my eyes as I pushed past him. He started to playfully poke at me, but I swung at him. He dodged it, expecting the reaction, and then started up again as I made my way down the stairs. I screamed through gritted teeth so that he would leave me alone. He just laughed in my face and continued to walk.

Everyone was watching me as I approached, so I looked away. Normally, I loved being the center of attention, but their judgment wasn't the kind of attention that I wanted. The eight of us left the suite, my father leading the way. We actually got to leave the hotel which was surprising. He took us to a little restaurant a couple blocks away. We opted for sitting outside for precautionary reasons.

The guys helped join a bunch of tables together and bring over chairs so there was room for all of us to sit together, but I chose to get a table by myself. I made sure it was close enough so that no one could complain I wasn't in view. Of course they tried to get me to join, but I focused my attention on the menu, deciding what I'd order to satisfy this hunger.

I ordered separately from the group and decided I'd use whatever money was in my pockets to pay. I refused to run to my daddy for anything. I was starving when my food came, but unlike the others who dove headfirst into their food, I played with mine. I was eating extremely slowly, half the time pushing the food around on my plate. Finally, my brother decided he would ignore my request for solitude and came to sit in front of me.

"Booka -

He held a hand up to silence me, "Kyran, enough with this diva silent treatment. You don't have to make yourself lonely. I still love you brat. None of us hate you. So can you at least stop being so mean to me if not anyone else." He asked, sticking out his bottom lip. I couldn't help but crack up laughing.

"Okay, Booka. No more mean Kyran. Just let me go to the bathroom first and then I'll come sit with you guys."

"I'll bring your food over."

I smiled, loving the way my big brother could always make me feel better before getting up and heading inside to the bathroom. I just needed to splash some cold water on my face and check myself out. On the way back outside my phone buzzed with a text. My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw who it was from.

_Adela: Necesitas salir ahora_

She was telling me to leave. But why?

_Me: Que? Donde estas?_

I wanted to know where she was and how she knew where I was.

_Adela: Tony esta mirando a ustedes. Sale!_

I almost dropped my phone. Antonio knew where we were and he was watching us. I knew this was a bad idea. I should've listened to my instincts and made my father pick somewhere else. I rushed outside to warn the others.

"We have to go. Now."

"What? Kyran what's going on?" my father asked.

"Daddy, it's not safe here. We have to leave. _Ahora. Mas rapido_." He knew I was worried when I switched to Spanish.

"_Calmate, hermanita_. Tell us what's going on."

"Antonio -

"Is here." A deep voice finished for me. I looked up in terror as I once again stared at the man who had turned my life upside down, "Hello, gorgeous. It's nice to see you too. We just couldn't stay away."

"We?" Jose dared to ask.

The figure that stepped out beside him from the shadows was a face that I hadn't seen in almost six months.

"_Adela_?"

"_Kyranyetta_, I'm so sorry. I tried to tell you sooner I really did." Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness and my eyes gave it to her.

"Antonio, now is not the time nor the place." My father warned as a few more strigoi slowly began to creep out of the shadows. I say he had about six in total.

"But I just couldn't have the girl who holds my heart so close and not come out and see her. I had to make sure my baby was okay after having to fend for herself against a werewolf."

"Antonio." I growled warningly.

"And Adela hasn't seen you in, what, almost half a year? She missed you. And after that little favor that you did for her three years ago -

"Tony, stop it!"

"Kyran, what the hell is he talking about?" Booka asked.

"Oh, she didn't tell you? Kyran, I'm hurt. How could you keep our love a secret? And the good deed you did for my sister. Don't be so modest. You all look confused. Let me explain. See Kyran and I had a thing…well it was more than just a thing. We had a pretty hot and heavy relationship for the past three years."

Dead silence. My mouth hung open but I was speechless. It seemed like we were frozen for hours until finally Josh said something.

"What?"

"That's right. The girl stole my heart. I've gotta say she's pretty seductive. Her body's soft too. Real fit and nicely shaped. I think I know just about every groove and curve on her."

"Tony, please stop."

"But she decided we had to end things six months ago because she didn't wanna risk any of you finding out. I was heartbroken, and I told her I'd get her back by my side somehow. I'd make her my queen."

"Tony." I begged.

"And not to mention how she used those incredible healing powers on my sister after I turned her into a Strigoi, but was only able to half heal her since she already had such dominant Strigoi qualities."

"Tony!" I shouted, desperate for him to shut up.

"Oh dear. I've said too much." He said while dramatically throwing his hand over his mouth, "Guess the cat's out of the bag."

I could feel tensions rising all around me. Someone was about to explode. The question was, who would it be first?

"Kyran, is this true?" Booka asked in a quiet yet menacing tone that terrified me.

"Jose, just let me -

"IS IT TRUE?"

"Yes." I practically whispered. I turned to look at him but he backed away from me.

"You lied to me. I can understand that you lied to everyone else, but I thought we were better than this, Ky. We had a bond. What happened to no secrets and no lies? It's not supposed to be like this between us."

"Well, it looks like you guys have a lot to talk about tonight. I think I'll eliminate some stress and attack you another day. Kyran, you know how to find me, and if not, I can always find you." I answered Tony's taunting and seductive smile with one of pure hate, "Until next time."

Then he turned and disappeared, his minions following behind him. Adela lingered behind for a few moments silently sending her sympathies towards me.

"Just go, Adela. There's nothing you can do. It's not your fault."

She blew me a kiss before following after her brother. I was afraid for my life. At least with Antonio and Adela here I'd have someone to defend me against everyone; now I was on my own.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm so sorry to have kept everyone waiting for an update, but I'm back now. Here comes the big blow out. Read and Enjoy  
_

I honestly thought everyone would turn and attack me right then in the open. People were already staring and whispering. Obviously what had just happened was a normal occurrence. We had way too much attention and that wasn't good. I stared back at hateful and disapproving faces with horror.

"Let's go." My father said angrily, looking as if he too was trying not to hurt me physically.

I didn't back talk, I didn't try to explain, I didn't even try to breathe too loudly. I just followed silently, hoping that one of my powers was being able to go invisible and that it would kick in now. Of course my luck would never be that good. We walked in a terrifying silence back to the hotel. We took the stairs up to our floor. Once back in the room, everyone seemed to have silently gotten the memo that we were having another meeting, because they all stopped and sat in the living room again. I tried to keep walking towards my room, but my father's angry voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To my room. I figure I'm pretty much confined to it now."

"You think this is a joke? You really wanna test me right now? Kyranyetta how could you be so stupid? So naïve? Didn't I teach you better than that? After everything we've gone through because of that boy you would really go behind our backs and do something like this. What else have you been lying about?"

"You knew he was here didn't you?" Josh accused angrily.

"Wha -

"No! When your father called and told us to meet him in Detroit you were so against it. You knew he was up here. Have you been communicating with him the whole time?"

"No! Daddy, no! I swear to you that's not how I know. I haven't seen or spoken to him since that day at the school. You have to believe me." I pleaded my case in the most distressful and desperate voice I had. But, looking into their eyes, I could tell it was no use. I don't think there was any going back from this.

"No I don't. I don't think I can believe a word that comes out of your mouth anymore. You lied to me, Josh, your brother, your mother, and all of your friends. This has been going on for years. You've been putting all our lives in danger. I've never been so disgusted, disappointed, and ashamed in my whole life. Kyran, you…you're…..just go. I don't wanna see you right now. Go."

"Daddy -

"GO!"

I jumped back, my heart breaking in two. I felt numb on the inside. I looked around me, getting the same vibe from everyone. They didn't have to say it for me to know they wanted to. I had pretty much been kicked out of my family and my group of friends. Rose would take my place as daughter and beloved sister. I was done for. I turned and ran to my room, locking the door before the tears fell.

A few hours passed. I had tried to stop crying, but listening to what they were saying downstairs brought more tears to my eyes. What would they think of me now? I'm sure they were already coming up with all types of stuff. I was a traitor, I'll admit it; but I couldn't exactly help it. The hearts wants what the heart wants, and back then my heart had wanted Antonio.

_**What had truly happened three years ago was not my fault. I'd been walking back from the ice cream shop, having been bored home alone. Who should get in my way but Antonio. I was on the defensive immediately, dropping my ice cream; but Antonio put his hands up in a surrendering gesture.**_

"_**Kyran, wait. I didn't come here to fight. I need your help. There's something wrong with Adela."**_

"_**Do you think I'm stupid, Tony?"**_

"_**Ky, please. I don't play when it come to my sister."**_

"_**If this is a trick - **_

"_**I swear on my mother's grave I speak nothing but the truth."**_

_**One thing he would never do was disgrace his dead mother. I relaxed and reluctantly followed him, the well being of my friend the only thing on my mind. When we finally got to one of the many places he called home I gasped. It was beautiful and extravagant; but of course he would have nothing less for himself. We went inside and up to the attic. He stopped me outside the door.**_

"_**Look, I didn't mean for this to happen." He began in a whispered voice, "It was an accident. One of those idiot men of mine decided that she'd be stronger as a Strigoi and turned her. She's out of control. Even I can't keep her regulated. She wasn't meant to be like this. Her mind and body were built to be the way she was. You're the only person I could think of that can help."**_

"_**What do you expect me to do? Suck the Strigoi out of her?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice down.**_

"_**Or heal it out of her"**_

"_**You're serious? You really want me to try and heal her?"**_

"_**Technically, if she's Strigoi, then she's undead. A walking corpse almost. You brought her back from the grave once. Please. Please. If you care about her at all then you're try. I can restrain her, but only for a while. We have to be quick. Are you with me?"**_

_**I thought about it long and hard, seeing true concern on Antonio's face. This had to be really bad if he was coming to me and begging, "Okay. I'll try."**_

_**He nodded to me and opened the door. One look at my best friend and I could tell he was right. She looked wrong; off somehow. And those eyes. They stared at me like no evil I had ever known. This wasn't Adela. The demon had completely corrupted her and taken over. Now I had to bring her back.**_

_**She sprang at me, but luckily Antonio had been waiting so he could grab her. He snatched her out the air and slammed her down to the floor. She writhed and wiggled, letting out this wretched screeching sound. When she opened her mouth to yell, I could see fangs pointed out of her mouth, the rest of her teeth sharpening along with them. That definitely wasn't a normal Strigoi trait. I had to fix this.**_

"_**Kyran, now!" Antonio yelled, bringing my focus back. I knelt beside her and grabbed her face between my hands, holding her head still with all my strength. I closed my eyes and let my powers go to work. I could feel her returning to normal. Her very aura was being purged of the evil presence. I even peeked through an eye and saw that her eyes had gone back to normal. But something inside her wouldn't let me finish the healing process. I pushed harder, but it was impossible. Wearing myself out, I let go of Adela and collapsed beside her, breathing heavily. Antonio shouted for henchmen and had them take Adela back to her room, she too having been drained of her energy. Antonio himself picked me up off the ground and carried me to a room. By the looks of things, I figured it was his. **_

_**He tended to me the whole time I was there, making sure that I was okay. He took wet cloths from his private bathroom and wiped my sweaty face. After a while I was okay to sit up. He sat beside me and stared gratefully into my eyes.**_

"_**Ky, thank you. I swear I'll never be able to thank you enough. You don't know what this means to me."**_

"_**She means a lot to both of us. I was happy to help." We sat in silence for a moment, "Tony, this war between us has to stop."**_

"_**Ky, I never wanted it to be a war. But the power we could have it soooo….words can't describe it. And it's what my father wanted. I have to finish this for him."**_

_**I placed my hand on his arm and squeezed gently, "No you don't. we can end it now; call a truce. It's possible. Just because you're father was obsessed with being king of the world doesn't mean you do too."**_

_**There was something in his eyes that I couldn't quite place. Desire? Attraction? Or maybe that was just a mirror of what I was feeling. I'm not too sure what happened next, but suddenly we were kissing. Maybe it was my break up with Damien. I don't know. All I do know is that I kissed him back, and I liked it. And from there it just turned into this big uncontrollable thing. A week after my sixteenth birthday was the first time I'd ever had sex, and it was with my supposed sworn enemy. I got to spend time with someone I considered a sister, and with the man I loved. But when my parents sprang the whole St. Vladimir thing on me, I knew things had to change. Tony and I couldn't go on as we were. It was getting too risky. I ended it, shattering his heart and bruising mine.**_

And because I couldn't control my feelings I had ended up in this mess. I had no one. I was alone and unwanted. If they didn't want me then I wouldn't stay here another minute. I refused to wait for them to feel like yelling at me again and call me down for another "bash Kyran" session. I'd leave. That was the only solution. Not forever, Just a little walk around the neighborhood until they all cooled down. I stood up and, as quietly as possible, made my way out the window. The building was smooth on the sides. I couldn't climb down the wall. I climbed over the balcony and hung from the end. Building up confidence in my powers, I let go, landing silently on my feet. I walked around to the front of the hotel and wandered away. I had no destination and no plan. My only desire was distance from those who couldn't stand to see my face.

I wandered through the city, staring at the sidewalk the whole time. I paid no attention to the street signs, the buildings, or the direction I walked in. Yet, you'd never believe where I ended up unintentionally. I guess I'd subconsciously taken myself to the one place I'd be accepted; the place that was also the source of my problems. Antonio's Detroit mansion stood before me, as flawless and beautiful as all the others. I walked up to the gate, automatically let in by the guards. I was let into the house without question as well. They all knew who I was and that I was not to be harmed. I followed my senses, guiding me to Antonio who sat in his room.

The moment he looked up at me, Rage took over. He'd ruined my life with a few sentences. Shutting the door behind me, I pounced. He was lain back on his giant mattress, my hands on his throat. At first he was surprised, but then he laughed. My blind anger distracted me from the fact the his hands were still free. He reversed our position and pinned me to the bed. He was smart enough to hold my hands down and use his legs to keep mine at bay.

"How could you do this to me? You ruined everything! You should've just left it alone and let me go! I have no friends, no family. They don't want anything to do with me and it's all thanks to you!"

I breathed heavily, me teeth bared a bit as I looked up at him, but that smirk never left his face, "Are you done?"

Realizing that shouting would do no good here, I calmed down and nodded.

"Good." And then he kissed me. God how I'd missed his kisses. But of all the things for me to be doing right now, this was definitely the worst. Unfortunately, this is what I needed. Once again, I melted right into his arms and did with him what I'd done with no other man except the one whose body was crushed against mine.

**(Josh POV)**

A whole day had passed since the incident with Antonio. No one had tossed even a glance towards Kyran's room. Especially not me. I was so mad at her; so hurt. How could she? This was unbelievable. Did she think she could pout her lips and bat her eyes and we'd just forgive her? This was the ultimate betrayal. Booka and I had one of the longest heart to hearts ever. Everyone was on edge now, but not with each other. Just anytime Kyran was brought up.

Actually, we were all getting along pretty well. After the group meeting and numerous apologies from Abe, the others had warmed up to us. granted, Lissa and Rose thought Booka and I were hot, even though he and Rose were related. We'd the past day getting to know each other a bit and just enjoying adolescence. Even Abe had joined in once he heard Kyran stop crying.

Those three or four hours that she's cried her eyes out I don't know how I managed to resist running to her rescue. It was the same with Booka and her father. We were all struggling between anger and protectiveness. But we had to keep strong. Instead, back on the school schedule of night as day and day as night, we were all enjoying each other's company in the midnight hour.

"I'm gonna go get the prisoner. You know how she can get when she doesn't eat, and she hasn't left that room in 24 hours." Booka said.

"Yes. Get her out of there. I know she feels bad, and I don't want us to push her away. She's going through enough as is." Abe agreed.

"Josh, come with me." Booka requested, more of a command than a question. Hesitantly, I stood up and went with him to fetch "Cinderella". We traveled up the stairs and down to her room. Knock. Knock. Knock, "Kyran, open up."

Silence. Booka tried again.

"Kyran, we're not here to yell at you. We're done yelling. I just came to talk and to check on you. Besides, you need to eat. You need your strength. And it's not good for you to be locked up alone this long. Just let me in."

Still, she didn't answer. I didn't even hear her mover. And then it dawned on me. There really was silence coming from her room.

"Wait. Booka listen." He shut up and just listened for a minute, "Do you hear that?"

"I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. Absolutely nothing."

And then he seemed to catch my drift, "No breathing. No heartbeat."

"Exactly. Either she's not in there or she's….."

Fearing the worst, Booka kicked down the door without a second thought. We scanned the room, but nothing. Booka banged his hand against the wall, "Damn it! Dad!"

Although he'd called for Abe, apparently dad had translated into everyone on it's way down the stairs. Suddenly, Kyran's room was filled with curious faces.

"What happened?" Abe asked.

"She's not in here." Booka explained.

"Figures." Rose snorted. Abe shot her a silencing look that shut her right up.

"Call her."

Booka obeyed his father and dialed his sister. We were all confused when music began to play in the room. We followed the sound of Ashley Tisdale to her bed.

_He said, girl you winnin'_

_She said, boy where you been at_

_Stop talkin' let's get wit it_

_Just like -_

He hung up when we found the phone under her pillow, "You've got to be kidding me! Where the hell is she?"

Abe ran a hand over his face and back through his hair. The man was seriously stressed out, and clearly thinking what we all were, "You don't think she …"

"Josh, I honestly don't know."

"Clearly, she's mad enough to not be thinking straight, because she would never go anywhere without her phone. We yelled at her, and shoved her in a corner, and basically told her we didn't want her around. No wonder she's gone." Booka punched his arm straight through the wall, eyes glowing the way Kyran's had during the fight at the school.

"Dude, calm down." Adrian said, trying to help Booka get a grip. Too bad he took it defensively.

"Don't tell me to calm down! My baby sister is gone and I have no idea where she is! We need to go out and try to follow her scent or something. We can't just sit here. Why are we just sitting here!"

I put a calming hand on his shoulder and forced him to look me in the eye, "Jose, you and I are gonna go out and try to track her scent. The rest of them need to stay here. Wandering in Antonio's territory is dangerous for them. Your father has guardians here. We need to go now. there's no telling how long she's been gone. Her scent could be gone by now. Come on. There's no time to waste. Abe, we'll be back as soon as possible. Call us if anything changes or if she shows up."

I steered Booka out of the room and got him outside as quickly as possible. Outside, it only took him moments to channel his energy and start sniffing out his sister.

"It's faint. She's been gone a while. I don't know how far it'll take us, but I need your help. Your sense of smell is stronger than mine. If you see me going in a wrong direction -

"Put you back on the right track. Got it. Let's go."

The words hadn't even left my mouth before I had to take off after my brother from another mother. He was actually outrunning me, that's how upset he was. I didn't even have to worry about picking up his slack because he followed the scent just perfectly. He followed it to what would've been a good three hour walk for Kyran, assuming she'd been walking which she probably was. We made it to the end of the trail within a half an hour, if even that long.

The giant letters AF on the golden gate left no guess as to who owned the mansion we stood in front of. This place was almost like Antonio's own personal castle. She'd really run back to him. I couldn't believe it. And Booka didn't wanna believe it.

**(K POV)**

I woke up the next night - which was pretty much day for all of us - and tried to move, only to be stopped by an arm protectively wrapped around me. Only then did I realize that I was laid up with Antonio, under his satin sheets, naked I might add.

"And just where might you be going, miss?" his deep voice whispered in my ear.

I giggled before turning to face him, "I was only trying to stretch. I wasn't running out on you."

He kissed me as a greeting, "Let's hope not."

Tony rolled over to let me up. I held the covers to my body and sat up in the bed. I looked down to find him staring up at me affectionately. He reached up and stroked my face, pausing by my eyes, then moved on to twirl a lock of my hair.

"What have they done to you?"

"It was for hiding from…from you. Apparently I was the only one that was too easy to recognize, so I had to change."

"The hair style I can deal with, but the hair color not so much. And those eyes - it's just not you." I looked down, saddened by the fact that I wasn't the only one who noticed how horrid my new appearance was. Always having hated anything putting a frown on my face, Tony gently pulled my face back up and stroked my cheek, "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just want my Ky back. If it were up to me, you wouldn't have changed in the first place."

"Don't you see? They don't want you to be who you are. How many times have they interfered with something in your life because it didn't fit the image of you that they were trying to create? They want to make you into something you're not rather than accept who you already are. And I happen to think that girl is perfect."

In the middle of our conversation, the door to his room burst open and slammed shut all in the same instance. Before we could react, Adela had thrown herself on me in the tightest embrace she could manage.

"Are you gonna crush me or hug me?" I asked in a strained voice.

"Sorry. I've just missed you so much. I can't believe you're here after everything that happened. And I can't believe you two are back to sleeping together after what happened. Oh, and don't worry, I already bit his head off for that.

"That she did." Antonio mumbled.

"And -

"Adela, chill!" I said between laughs, "I'm here. You can breathe. I don't plan on just disappearing again without contact."

"Good to hear. Now I'll let you two get decent before we catch up." She smirked at us, wiggled her eyebrows, then left us alone.

"Did you ever consider locking your door?" I asked with a smile.

"Nah. She's the only one besides you who would even dare think about doing that. And both of you are always more than welcome."

"Well, what if she would've walked in on us last night?"

"During which hour?"

"Any of them!" I exclaimed. We'd gone at it for a while, more like animals than humans in that modd.

"Then she would've gotten a show." He kissed my cheek, "Now let's see if we can't get you back to looking a little more like yourself. Go ahead and get in my shower. I'll see about getting you something to eat."

Giving him a final peck, I climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I looked over my shoulder and smiled as I caught him admiring my body before disappearing behind the white double doors. Everything in there was just as I remembered it. First, I would work on getting this dye out of my hair before soaking my sore, tired, overworked body in a bubble bath.

I turned the hot water all the way up in the shower stall, grabbed the shampoo, then went to work. I scrubbed, and rubbed, and clawed, and rinsed, and scratched repeatedly. I even used some inhuman strength, watching the water turn black at my feet as the dye left my hair. I'd gotten just about all of it out and figured that was good enough, so I shut off the shower and stepped out. The first thing I saw was the soft white towels and the silky dark blue robe embroidered with Tony's initials. The second thing that caught my eye was the bubble bath, already prepared, with strawberries, melted frosting, and champaigne waiting for me on the edge.

One thing I'll say about Tony, he pampered me like no princess or queen had ever been pampered before. I didn't even have to open my mouth for him to know what I wanted and get it for me. I smiled, my heart swelling from the feeling of being wanted, before slipping into my bath. I sipped from the glass and devoured the entire bowl of strawberries. Another hour later and I was fully relaxed. I dried my body, brushed my teeth, lotioned up, and then started the process of bringing my old look back.

I stared in the mirror as I pulled the robe on and tied it around me. The first thing to go were these stupid contacts. I took them out and tossed them in the trash. It was refreshing to see my true eye color again. After that, I blew out my hair so that it was back to its curly nature. One problem left, the bang. The bang I'd been forced to cut. Curly wasn't really satisfying me right now, so I straightened the bang and pulled the rest into a curly mess on top of my head. Feeling better about my face, I left the room and headed downstairs, dirty dishes from my bath in hand. I didn't make it past the kitchen door without Antonio personally taking them from my hand and placing them in the sink, having a human servant clean up. The counter was covered in all my favorites. Chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, French toast, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, pink lemonade, and more strawberries and frosting.

"Tony, you always did know how to treat a girl right."

Adela lifted her head, mouth full of fried plantains and French toast. She swallowed it down with a glass of juice, "Come have a seat. Family time."

I rolled my eyes but hurried to sit beside her, eager to be able to stuff my face. I hadn't eaten in days and it was starting to get to me. A plate already sat on the table, loaded with everything I'd planned to eat, a glass of the lemonade beside it. I smiled up at Tony before taking my seat. He leaned against the counter across from us and watched with a smirk. I wanted to dig in, but my body told me something was missing. I scrunched up my face in confusion. Tony snapped his fingers, and a Strigoi carried in a human with a dazed look on his face. A blood donor.

So that's what I'd been missing! I blew a kiss to Tony before sinking my teeth into the more than willing man. Once my main hunger had been satisfied, I moved on to the other one, pausing before stabbing my fork into the plate. I'd never had to use words to get Tony to know what I wanted. I just looked up at him through the bang until he rolled his eyes and grabbed a plate. Once he was seated next to me, I continued on with my meal. I felt so at home and at peace with Tony and Adela. We talked and talked and talked, sitting and enjoying being around each other again. Eventually, Adela went off to do her own thing, leaving Antonio to kidnap me back into his room. I sat on the edge of the bed, facing the window. He opened it and exposed the gorgeous view of the city. Then, he came and sat beside me.

"Much better. Here's the girl I fell in love with."

"Tony, I know you may think it's just that easy for us to pick up where we left off, but it's not. I don't know if we can keep doing this."

"Why not?"

"My…my other family."

Antonio crouched down in front of me and held my hands in his, staring straight into my eyes.

"They don't love or care about you any more than Adela and I do. The only difference between us and them is that we'll take you as you are instead of trying to change you. We can take you higher in this life. Higher than you'll ever be. They're holding you back from your full potential. Stay with us. Stay with me. Rule this world by my side as queen Kyranyetta Amyarra Shyary Booka- Mazur-Fimbres. Be mine and only mine. Be my queen. My everything. My wife."

Holy crap! Had Tony just proposed to me? He'd asked me to be his wife. This was a little much. I cared deeply for him; loved him even. But was I ready to be somebody's wife? His words held more appeal than they had all those years ago. Wife to a rich powerful man and queen of the world. Isn't that every girl's dream? That and to be a ballerina or a supermodel. He was trying to rip me in the direction opposite from the family I'd known my whole life. I was torn right down the middle. If only I could split myself in two, then everyone would be happy.

"Tony, as wonderful as it would be to spend the rest of my life with you, I can't give you an answer right now. you treat me better than anyone ever has considering that we used to be at each other's throats all the time. I love you, I do. I just need some time to think on it."

"What's to think on? You can have the perfect life with me."

"You mean a life without my family and friends, and anyone else who you think might get between us."

"I never said they couldn't be a part of our world. Once you and I take control you know there's nothing you can't sway them to. We could all be on the same side. We'd all be together."

That did sound like a happy ending. Maybe not the fairy tale kind, but still good enough for me.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe's good." He smiled at me, hopeful and confident that he was winning me over, and if I was honest with myself he kinda was. There was a knock on the door, "Come in." Tony called, never taking his eyes off me.

"I think you might want to take a look outside." Dimitri said as he entered the room, "Hello Kyran. Nice to see you again."

And then my memory smacked me in the head, "Tony -

"She's fine. You know me better than to think I'd actually hurt you like that. She's here in the mansion. We just keep her sedated and asleep. She has absolutely no idea of anything that's happened and it'll stay that way until you say otherwise."

After having reassured me about my mother, Tony followed Dimitri to the window and looked down. I could see the wicked grin spread across Tony's face and it made me curious. I stood up and went to go see what was so pleasing to him. I should've stayed on the bed where he left me, because the look of pain on both Josh and my brother's faces was almost too much for me. I turned away from the window as Tony snickered and closed the curtains.

"Thanks Dimitri. Tell the others don't follow and don't attack. Just leave them be."

Dimitri nodded and left the room. Once he was gone, Tony turned his attention back to me. I was shuffling around his room, searching, "Where are my clothes."

"The laundry guy took it. I don't even know if it made it into a cycle yet. He was gonna bring it when it was done."

"I can't go like this."

"You don't have to go at all you know."

I placed a hand on his face, "I need to go straighten this out. I can't just leave things the way they are. They'll attack and I don't wanna have to choose sides or risk anyone getting hurt. Just let me go handle this."

"Will you come back to me?"

Rather than answer with words, for fear that they might not be true or that they might be too true, I kissed him long and slow. That was a good enough answer for him.

"I'll get you some of Adela's clothes. And I'll drive you back myself. And before you even try to argue with me I promise no funny business. I won't bring anybody or send anybody to the location. I'll just let you out and leave. That's it. And you know I won't let you leave if you're on foot."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Half an hour later I was dressed in a black Tee with white designs and words on the front and black capris, flip flops covering my feet. Tony had almost talked me into staying for a Mani-Pedi and massage, but I resisted and just had him take me to the car. It took us about fifteen or twenty minutes to get to the hotel. True to his word he just dropped me off, accepting a kiss as payment. I waved goodbye and headed for the front door. One of my father's guards was in the lobby and escorted me upstairs, apparently having been told to look out for any sign of my return. We rode the elevator and he didn't put more than a millimeter of space between us until we were back in the room.

The vibe was weird but not a surprise when I entered the room. Looks of relief and anger crossed their faces.

"I don't know what else to say besides sorry. So whatever you guys are about to come at me with, I'm ready. Let's have it."

I wasn't playing any games. I wanted to get right to it; to make my decision of whether I should stay or go. Would they give me a reason to stay? Did they still want me? time to find out.

"What were you doing with - never mind. I don't even wanna think about what you two were doing. Kyran, were you…did you…have you two…"

"Yes, Booka. We have. More than once I might add."

"Why do you keep making these bad decisions with guys? First Damien and now him? Did you and Damien -

"No. Tony was my first and only. And the first time wasn't until late last year. It's not like it was a fling, it was a serious relationship. We care about each other. He actually does love me. it's not an act, and I'm not being naïve. We have a connection."

"Connection my ass! Can't you see the boy is playing you?"

"Booka, please don't shout at me. I can guarantee you yelling at me is not the best of ideas right now."

"Kyran why are you doing this? Are you acting out? Is this rebellion to punish me for something? Did I do something wrong as a father?"

"Mom's alive. She's just fine too."

"You didn't get her out of there? What the hell is he filling your head with?" Booka yelled.

"He proposed to me." I said as if it were nothing.

"And I hope you said no." Booka said after about five minutes of the room being silent.

"I said maybe." I answered with a shrug.

"Kyran, I don't know what's happening with you, but I don't like it. Get rid of this attitude right now and come to your senses. This is foolishness."

"Why daddy? Because it's not what you want? Tony was right. You don't want me as I am. I'm the not the daughter you wish you had so you try to change me. You guys don't want me? Fine. Take her." I nodded my head at her, "By the way, your boyfriend's doing just fine."

"I oughtta -

Rose tried to attack me, but I just lightly blew in her direction and she flew back. I was on a power tripped. Antonio had let my head swell up and I wasn't answering to anybody anymore, "I'm done with this. Done taking orders. You guys can be the perfect family together. I quit."

I turned and headed for the door. Just as I opened it, I heard my father's voice. Maybe he'd decided that he wanted me around. But I'd been too hopeful.

"If you walk out that door, don't even think about coming back."

Wrong answer. I kept going, loving this feeling of defiance. I snapped my fingers on the street for a cab and rode back to Tony's house, ready to take my place as queen.


End file.
